Kijin Sentai
by nazokantai
Summary: The Abyssal Fleet is defeated, but there are entities more dangerous and frightening than a faceless, inhuman enemy. To combat this threat, the IJN shipgirls must work with their oddball commanders and old enemies for survival. Soviet ships largely fictional. USN shipgirls based on the Pacific collection by NOVEMBER* and Aura. Warnings: OC commanders, sinkings, mild swearing.
1. The First Island

Kijin Sentai

 **奇人戦隊**

Chapter 01

In the middle of the Sea of Japan, several hundred kilometres from the Japanese mainland, was a group of three islands known as the Hatsushima Shoto, or the First Islands. Known for their natural beauty, crystal-clear waters, and its sleepy port town, this far away from civilisation, these islands were as much a paradise as they were a prison.

"I want to get off this god-damned island…!" exclaimed Commander Kirigaya Sora, a slender young man of twenty-three. He skipped a stone over the still waters of the bay, while watching cargo ships sail by. "It's boring here!" His straight and spiked hair bobbed as the sea breeze blew across his face.

"Commander, poi!" exclaimed Yuudachi, pouting. "Am I boring?"

Just as he wound up for the next skip, Sora paused and dropped the stone in his hand. "Oh, no, no, that's not what I meant." He reached out to her and patted her on the head. She instantly perked up and jumped for joy, spraying sand all over Sora's freshly polished boots. He looked down and took in a deep breath. "Oh, boy, the Chief Petty Officer is going to kill me for this…"

"Oyyyyyyy!" exclaimed a familiar voice from behind him, over the droning of an automobile engine. Sora spun on his heels and made eye contact with Fuji, a fellow Commander around his age. By contrast, Fuji was easily one and a half times Sora's weight, most of it muscle mass. "Sorry to interrupt, but we're late! Get in the car!" Sora and Yuudachi hurried into the vehicle, and Fuji sped off shortly.

Minutes later, they pulled over by the barracks and hurried to the docks – the kind meant to accommodate ships rather than shipgirls – and saw everyone lining the pier.

Sora looked up at the sleek-looking ship that had pulled into the harbour. It was a newly-minted command cruiser, and the number of white, neatly pressed uniforms lining the port side of the ship reminded him that this was a very important day. He hurriedly wiped the sand from his boots with his handkerchief.

"… What? You carry that around with you all the time?" asked Fuji, straightening his uniform in preparation for the coming ceremony.

Sora folded his handkerchief with a frown, trying to understand why Fuji even asked this question. "… Yes, I do. I never leave my quarters without it."

"And you're using it to wipe your boots? Seriously?"

"Yes… seriously. Your point…?"

"O…kay…" Fuji muttered as he awkwardly walked away from Sora and Yuudachi, making his way to the parade square. "Time to fall in!"

Yuudachi gave Sora a puzzled look. Sora shrugged and pulled his peaked cap over his scalp, such that it fit snugly without ruining his pretty hair. They quickly made their way to the pier, where the majority of the Hatsushima Fleet had fallen into formation, lined up for a welcoming ceremony.

The command cruiser had docked, and the gangway ladder had been set. From the ship descended half a dozen men in white uniforms, most of whom looked to be in their 30s or more. Several shipgirls – Akagi, Kaga, and Fuso – followed immediately behind the leading officer.

"Salute!" barked stout and plump Chief Petty Officer Sugihara, standing ramrod straight and rendering a salute unto the officers disembarking the ship. The majority of staff lined up at the pier rendered mostly half-hearted salutes, without the slightest hint of pride behind them.

Koizumi Kuroaki, a fellow Commander, even yawned as she lazily saluted. Sora nudged her in the side with his elbow. "He's watching!" he hissed while maintaining his pose. Kuro met Sugihara's judging eyes for just a moment, and she quickly fixed her posture to get his attention off her.

"Welcome to Hatsushima!" greeted Sugihara, addressing the first officer to step off the gangway.

At first glance, he did not seem like much of an officer. By the insignia on his shoulders, they could see that he was a Kaigun Daisa, or Captain. He was a sturdy-looking middle-aged man with a neat and well-maintained goatee, and had his hair tied up in a ponytail. He casually returned the salute, and took two more steps forward to give his fellow officers room to move.

"At ease!" yelled Sugihara. The fleet's staff and shipgirls relaxed.

The officer took in a deep breath as he surveyed the personnel lining the pier. Most of the humans looked dishevelled; some of the men's faces were unshaven, and the shipgirls were chatting and giggling amongst themselves, completely oblivious to Sugihara's growing irritation.

"A very good afternoon to all of you," he said to them. "I'm not one for speeches, so I'll keep this short. I am Captain Akiyama Saito. I am the incoming Frontier Task Force Commander, and we'll be working together starting today. I hope to bring out the best in each and every one of you."

Without another word, Saito continued down the pier, striding forward with purpose.

Sugihara growled as the officers faded into the background, chatting amongst themselves. "Koizumi! See me in my office at 1700 hours, after manoeuvre practise! Dismissed!"

/1705 hours, Naval Academy Building/

Fuji, ever the hardworking officer, had just finished his paperwork for the day and found time to complete a workout at the gym. He was making his way back to the barracks when he passed by the Base Commander's Office, which the Base Commander shared with the Chief Petty Officer.

"YOU'RE LATE! I TOLD YOU SEVENTEEN HUNDRED AND YOU HAVE THE CHEEK TO SHOW UP LATE! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING OUT THERE TODAY? YOU'VE MADE AN EMBARRASSMENT OF YOURSELF AND OF THE ENTIRE HATSUSHIMA NAVAL YARD! WHAT WAS THAT HALF-ASSED SALUTE AND YAWN FOR? YOU HAVE NO RESPECT FOR A SENIOR OFFICER! AND WHAT WAS WITH THAT LAX MOVEMENT ON ZUIKAKU'S PART? AN OFFICER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS FLEET! IF ZUIKAKU GETS LISTED FOR SCRAPPING, THAT'S ON YOU!"

Fuji shuddered as he heard Sugihara's booming voice. He pitied whomever was in the room at that point. He was sure that the Chief Petty Officer was loud enough to be heard from the barracks a good two hundred metres away, sometimes.

"AS IF COMING TO HATSUSHIMA WASN'T ENOUGH PUNISHMENT FOR YOU! DO YOU WANT TO BE DEMOTED THAT BADLY? YOU AND YOUR FLEET WILL TAKE THREE EXTRA NIGHT PATROL DUTIES THIS MONTH! YOU WILL TAKE COMMANDER SORA'S SHIFT TONIGHT. DISMISSED!"

The door swung open all of a sudden, and Kuro marched out as if she were the centre of a hurricane. Her state of irritation sucked the air right out of the hallway.

She and Fuji made eye contact. The latter scratched the back of his head with his towel and awkwardly broke eye contact when he noticed how ticked off she was. She could be quite an intimidating figure; she was just as tall as he was, and she was quite a sharp character.

"Yes?" she asked curtly, clearly in no mood to entertain any of his silliness today. Without waiting for a response, she started walking down the hallway, making a beeline for the barracks.

"What happened?" he asked as he followed her.

"Reprimand. Extra duties. Whatever. Not like I care."

"Wow. Uhh, I hope it's not too bad. Need any help?"

"Look, Fuji, I know you're just trying to help, but I'm fine. I've just had a crappy day."

She picked up the pace and left him behind, looking forward to the only thing that was good on this base – spending time out on sortie with her shipgirls.

/0530 hours, Port Gates/

"Open the gates! Koizumi's fleet has returned!" blared the duty crewman over the PA system. The maintenance crew on standby hurried to their stations. The massive gates rose to unveil Kuro's command cruiser, the Kusanagi, escorted by her four shipgirls, Yamashiro, Akebono, Zuikaku, and Shigure. While the shipgirls returned their equipment, Kuro anchored her ship by the pier inside the hardened shelter built into the stony belly of the island.

With a quick wave of her arm, she dismissed her shipgirls, who headed back to the barracks ahead of her. She filled out the paperwork indicating complete return of equipment in proper order, before making her way out of the underground structure. There was only one place to be, right now: her bed.

As she went down the pathway leading to the commanders' quarters, she spotted a figure leaning against a tree. "Good work out there." It was Sora. He held his peaked cap in one hand and had the other hand in his pocket. Kuro mildly smirked as she approached, tipping her cap in acknowledgement of his presence.

"Hmm, 'Good work'? It's rare of you to welcome anyone back. What business do you have with me?" Anyone might have seen it as rude, but this was teasing banter between old friends. Kuro didn't stop for him, steadily walking past Sora as the latter joined, keeping pace with her.

"Well, you know me, I wouldn't do things without a reason."

"So, what's this reason you speak of?" She faked a cough to emphasise the point she was about to make. "I've been up for 24 hours, so I'm not going to waste precious bedtime waiting about. Speak your mind."

"Saito. What are your thoughts on him?" Sora's eyes shot in the general direction of Saito's bunk. Kuro, tired as she was, followed his gaze uninterestedly. Kuro paused while searching for

her first impressions of Saito.

"Hm... just another geezer. Probably got demoted and sent to this isolated corner of Japan, just like us. His fleet doesn't look like much either. I mean, yeah, he has the two sisters of the First Carrier Division, but it's not like that means a whole lot. The war with the Abyssals ended a long time ago."

"Nothing else? Any assessment of his personality?"

She tried to recall her what specific thoughts she had about Saito, and found it hard to recall any opinions she had about him… which was odd.

"... He's weird, if I can say so myself. A hard nut to crack. Usually I'd be able to gauge what sort of character a person is from observing their behaviour and appearance, but he's just a mass of… oddity. He seems to have certain levels of foresight, and I'll credit him for that. Hopefully there's experience to back that up. Beyond that, I haven't been able to properly size him up. How about you? You don't seem to like him at all."

They paused on the connecting bridge between this sector of the commanders' quarters and the next one, where their quarters were located. Sora leaned against the railing and gazed across the ocean, towards the red and rising sun. He smiled to himself.

"Heheh, that's very much like you. You're always analysing people, which is precisely why I chose to talk to you instead of that klutz, Fuji. Anyway, as for what I think, it doesn't really matter… does it? As long as he does his job and we survive as the misfits of IJN instead of dying and being forgotten. Personally, I don't like him much, for some reason. There's something about him… I can't quite place it. So if he fucks up, I'll punch him right in the face."

Kuro raised her eyebrows. She would not put it past him to hit a superior officer in the face. It was what landed him here in the first place. "Huh... well, as long as he doesn't prove to be a waste of space and resources, all is fine with me." Kuro flashed a playful smirk and pulled her peaked cap lower.

"You and your resources. I wouldn't be surprised to find drum canisters all over your quarters."

"How astute of you! I do, in fact, have drum canisters scattered around. They make excellent storage compartments. Would you like one?"

"Hell no, you resource freak, I need space in my quarters to plan my tactics."

Kuro chuckled. "Well, enough joking for now. I've got to hit the sack and get at least three or four hours of sleep. I took over _**your**_ patrol duty, after all."

"That was totally not my fault. You should rest up. We've got manoeuvre practise in the afternoon."

" _ **IF**_ I can be found! Hahahahaha~~" exclaimed Kuro, her laughter trailing off into the distance as she made her way to her quarters.

/1500 hours, Open waters/

"Kirigaya! You call that Crossing the T?" barked Sugihara over the radio. "Fujiwara! What kind of formation is THAT? Are you Line Ahead or Line Abreast? Or are you too busy enjoying the view?"

They were in open waters, practising formations and combat manoeuvres under the supervision of everyone's favourite person, Chief Petty Officer Sugihara. They were not even halfway through the exercise, and the shipgirls were already hunched over, moving sluggishly.

"And you! KOIZUMI! Your echelon is sloppy! Why is Zuikaku in front of Yamashiro? Why are you trying to defend a dreadnought with a carrier?!"

Standing in the bridge of his command cruiser, the Tadakatsu, Saito rubbed his bearded chin with a gloved hand. The formations were, indeed, sloppy… but if this was how training was conducted out here, it was no surprise at all that they were sloppy.

Saito grabbed the mouthpiece of the radio and held it close to his face. "Everyone, this is your new Task Force Commander, Captain Akiyama. I'll be taking over as the conducting officer for today's session. All fleets, follow my orders. Return to your starting positions. Sugihara, I would like a word with you later this evening."

Zuikaku growled, waving her bow about in frustration. "Is he for real? Urgh. I'm sick and tired of doing the same thing every day. And now we have to do it with a new commander?"

"Calm down, Zuikaku-san, maybe it won't be so bad. Right?" suggested Shigure.

"Maybe. Let's give it a try. Shireikan! Sorry about the mistake. Who should be the lead ship?"

Kuro sighed as she adjusted her cap. Sugihara was right on this point, as much as she hated to admit it. "Let's have Yamashiro in front. Zuikaku, second in line. Shigure; Akebono; third and fourth, guarding the flank."

"Roger!" the shipgirls exclaimed in unison, switching positions.

Once everyone was in position, Saito started giving orders again. "Fujiwara, form a line ahead with Hiei in the lead. Make heading zero-four-five. Advance at ten knots."

"Roger. Heading zero-four-five, speed, ten knots. Advance." Fuji complied, placing his fastest battleship in the lead and keeping his command cruiser in the rear. Properly lined up, they advanced at the stipulated speed.

"Very good. Keep it up. Now, Kirigaya, form an echelon with heading one-three-five. Advance at fifteen knots."

Sora paused for a moment to take in a deep breath. He didn't want to say a word if he could help it… but he had no choice. "… Roger. One-three-five. Fifteen knots."

"Your fleet is on combat patrol. The echelon affords excellent field of vision for every ship, and multiple overlapping fields of fire. You will soon spot the OPFOR fleet. Once you spot them, increase speed, reform into a line ahead, with all guns to starboard."

 _I don't need you to tell me things I already know,_ Sora thought to himself with annoyance. _But I guess it's easier when you've got direction._

"Commander! Enemy fleet spotted, bearing zero-three-zero. Your orders?" reported Haruna, holding clenched fists up to her waist in preparation for simulated combat.

"Form a line ahead! Advance at twenty knots! Let's cut them off!" ordered Sora.

"Roger!" acknowledged Haruna. "Yuudachi, Katsuragi, Fubuki, follow me in that order! Katsuragi, launch torpedo planes!"

Katsuragi was taken aback by the sudden order. "Huh? B-but I've never launched-"

Haruna cut her off mid-sentence, focusing completely on the operation. "All guns to starboard! Full broadside! Fire!"

Their guns roared, and training shells flew in the general direction of Fuji's fleet, throwing water into the air and splattering paint all over Hiei.

"Shit, what do I do?!" Fuji said aloud, not realising that his radio mouthpiece was still transmitting. Blinded by the focused fire, Hiei slowed down and hurriedly returned fire without proper aim. Some of the training shells hit his command cruiser, which was the last ship in line. "Oh, shit!"

"Cease fire. All ships, cease fire," ordered Saito with an audible sigh. "Congratulations, Lt. Commander Fujiwara. Because of your doubt and indecision, you are dead, and Hiei has sunk. We'll review this later. Commander Koizumi, your fleet has spotted the ambush taking place and is approaching to provide support. Proceed with the manoeuvre you find most appropriate. All ships, resume combat actions."

"Roger," she replied nonchalantly. "All ships, wheel to starboard. Zuikaku, launch all dive-bombers. All ships, set course for the enemy's port flank. Yamashiro, provide support fire from long range while the fleet approaches the enemy's flank. We'll catch them in a pincer."

Zuikaku nocked an arrow and pulled back. She focused her mind on the spot in the sky where she wanted her aircraft to be. _Altitude, heading, and – wait, is that Kaga and Akagi observing from the deck of the Tadakatsu? It just had to be them, huh? I'll show you the pride of the Fifth Carrier Division…!_

In that moment, she lost her focus. The arrow struck Yamashiro's gun turret, causing an explosion.

"Exercise, cut! Deploy emergency response team!" exclaimed Saito into the radio. He heaved a sigh. "All fleets, return to port immediately. Fleet commanders, report to my office this evening for a review of today's practise."

/1900 hours, Saito's office/

"Good to finally meet all of you," said Saito, taking his peaked cap off and setting it on the simple wooden desk by the windows. He looked up at the three officers lined up in front of the table in the centre of his office. Kuro and Sora looked rather nonchalant, and Fuji stood as still as he could, which made him tense and jittery.

Saito silently appreciated Fuji's discipline, something that was clearly looked upon with scorn on this base. He leaned over the large square table at the centre of the room, where he had laid out a map of the Hatsushima region and a stack of wooden pentagons. "At ease. Come to the table." Fuji, Kuro, and Sora took positions around the table as instructed.

Saito set up the wooden pentagons to represent the fleets under their respective commander's control. As he spoke, he moved them to represent the movements of each fleet during the day's practise. "Let's review today's practise. Fujiwara, you advanced as instructed. Kirigaya, your fleet's echelon formation and approach speed were excellent. You crossed the T properly, but there was one fatal flaw. Can you tell me what it is?"

Sora's brows furrowed in consternation. "What flaw?" he asked defensively. "We sunk the OPFOR fleet's lead ship, just as I'd planned. Don't underestimate my genius."

"If Fuji had reacted as I had hoped, you wouldn't be saying that. Fuji, what do you think you should have done when you were busy asking what you should have done?" prodded Saito with a muted grin on his face.

As she watched her fellow commanders interact him, Kuro sensed was no ill intent behind the questions; it seemed that he just wanted to get people thinking. It was a pleasant change from the usual unwarranted beratement she received from the officers on this base.

"Uhhh… Frankly, I don't… know… I put my strongest ship in front but she got blown up. What should I have done?"

"Think. Your heaviest ship was in front. You were advancing at speed. What could you have done in response to a disadvantageous T?"

"Form a diamond? Or a double line?"

"Not the best solution, but it's not too bad an option… I personally wouldn't have done that. In the time it would have taken you to form a diamond in that position, your fleet would have been annihilated. Koizumi, what is the best move he could have made?"

She paused for a moment, analysing the fleet composition and positioning of each ship on the map. Once she was certain, she gave her answer. "He should have advanced at maximum speed."

"Correct," confirmed Saito, making a slicing motion with his arm just above the wooden pieces representing Sora's fleet.

"But why? Isn't that pretty much suicide?" Fuji asked, scratching the back of his head. "Getting caught in that kind of position pretty much means I'm screwed anyway, right?"

Saito moved the pieces representing Fuji's fleet closer to the ones representing Sora's fleet. "That's partly right. When caught in a disadvantageous T, the enemy fleet can bring all their guns to bear on the front of your fleet, and your firepower is far weaker in relation to theirs. However, the correct response to such an ambush is to disrupt it if possible. Your ships are designed to move fast in a straight line and comfortably take some damage from the front. By closing the distance in a short time, you minimise your exposure to effective enemy fire, negating their firepower advantage, and you can force them into a melee, where your fleet is strong. Plus, you would have made use of the flaw in Sora's formation."

"You still haven't pointed it out to me," insisted Sora, folding his arms in defence. "What was wrong with my formation?"

At this point, everyone could tell that Saito was getting a little ticked off. Not that Kuro or Sora really cared. "Just take a closer look at the formation. Haruna led the formation, and that was fine, but crossing the T and placing your smallest and lightest ship in the centre was the one weak point I would have found and made full use of in this situation. If I had control of Fuji's fleet, Yuudachi would be at the bottom of the sea, crushed by the sheer size and weight of Hiei."

Saito paused to let that point sink in. Sora gritted his teeth and mentally retreated, unable to retort in a manner that would win him the argument. He did not want to admit it, but Saito had a point.

"As for you, Koizumi – your movements were within reason, and I have no complaints about your adjusted formation. I'd suggest you talk to Zuikaku, though. She seemed distracted today."

"I know. It's because of the First Carrier Division. She saw them aboard your command cruiser. I'm assuming you put them there to 'motivate' Zuikaku. Are you done?"

"Just one more thing. Keep your clingy thing away from my clingy thing. I know they're sisters, but I don't think it's necessary that they meet… yet."

"… You mean Yamashiro?"

"… Yes."

"… Roger."

* * *

Authors' Note #1:

Hey, reader! Thanks for following us this far. This is a collaborative Kantai Collection fanfic by three friends who are huge Kancolle fans, and we hope you've enjoyed this first chapter.

We're not experts in naval warfare by any means, but we've tried to do our best for this piece. We've got lots more exciting content in the pipeline, so stay tuned!

Please tell us what you think of our work! ^^

Authors' Note #2:

For those who're confused by "heading" and "bearing":

Heading – The direction in which a vehicle is pointing, relative to the North. Measured in degrees (out of a maximum of 360 degrees), with the degrees always running clockwise.

Bearing – The direction in which an object is located, relative to the observer. E.g. The fleet Haruna spotted was 30 degrees from her front.

Also, degrees are read out digit by digit, to avoid confusion (zero-niner-zero versus ninety degrees, which could easily be confused for nineteen degrees in the heat of battle).


	2. Sixty Seconds

Kijin Sentai

 **奇人戦隊**

Chapter 02

* * *

Authors' Note:

Hi there, reader! Thanks for following us up to this point. We hope you like the action we've provided in this chapter; one of our writers really enjoys writing combat scenes, and he honestly couldn't wait to put this one in. It's right towards the end. Please tell us what you think of our work thus far!

Also, special shoutout to Jedii, who kindly left us a review: We have every intention of seeing this through! We think there's potential for our idea, and we're huge fans that spazz over feels (plus the chief writer is a huge history buff). In terms of planning, we've already got content lined up for another 4 or 5 chapters, at this point. Thank you so much for your support. You keep reading, and we'll keep writing!

* * *

/2100 hours, Sora's quarters/

The door creaked open, and Sora declared, "I'm back!"

"Teitoku! Welcome back, poi!" Hurried footsteps and a warm hug from Yuudachi greeted Sora before he could even take off his peaked cap. He ruffled her hair as he returned the hug.

"It's good to be back," he replied with a gentle smile. Yuudachi helped Sora take off his jacket and hung it on the coat rack by the door. In the meantime, he took a seat, and she poured him a cup of tea when she joined him at the table.

"How was your day, Teitoku?" she asked, eager to hear about the aspects of his life she did not witness personally.

"Didn't I tell you not to call me 'Teitoku' at home? Don't be so formal. You're the only girl I allow to stay in my quarters."

"That won't do, poi~!" replied Yuudachi insistently, shaking her head left and right with her eyes shut tightly. "I still have to respect you as my fleet commander, poi~!"

Sora smirked in defeat. She knew just the right things to say to convince him of anything. "Alright, alright… I give."

"Heehee. So... How was the debriefing with Akiyama Teitoku?" she asked, sipping from the cup of milk she had been helping herself to.

Sora sank into his seat and sighed deeply. "The usual, I guess. Just like any other meeting with any other officer, really. Saito is annoying, just as I expected. He was constantly nagging about things I already knew... It's not like I don't know the things he's trying to teach us. I'm just too lazy to go and do it all over again with one hundred percent accuracy. I've done it like a million times in my cadet training days already, so there's no point in doing this again.

"Hahaha, well... I'm sort of with Captain Akiyama on this one poi~, what if you don't keep practicing now, and when the real deal happens, you mess up, poi? I'll be really worried!" she pouted in his general direction. Her concern for her admiral was… admirable.

Sora puts his teacup on the table and plopped down face-up on his bed, openly sulking. "Ehhh... You're on his side? Fine..." He covered his eyes with his arm, exaggerating his exhaustion.

Sora felt his bed wobble, and he moved his arm to see Yuudachi had taken a seat next to his head. As soon as they made eye contact, he hid his eyes behind his arm again. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to you if you accidentally messes up during real combat just because you didn't practice, poi..."

Yuudachi sounded like she was about to cry. Pangs of guilt filling his heart, he pulled his arm away and looked up at her. "Y-Yeah... I guess you're right, I'm sorry... I'll take training more seriously, okay?"

"That's good." She cheered up, and flashed that innocent and brilliant smile of hers. She patted her commander on the head. "I don't really know what kind of man he is, but he seems kind poi~ Just listen to him, and I'm sure we'll be fine!"

/2100 hours, Kuro's quarters/

Kuro returned to her quarters, and the one ship to enthusiastically greet her as she entered was none other than Shigure, her secretary ship for the day.

"Welcome back, Commander. Good work out there!" she beamed, a smile radiant enough to relief Kuro from the day's exhaustion.

Patting her head, Kuro replied with a small and sincere smile of her own. "Thanks. You did well today, too." In a swift sweep of her arm, she had unbuttoned her uniform and allowed it to hang loosely on her shoulders as she slumped on her sofa, letting out a soft groan of tiredness. Shigure followed suit, sitting herself beside her commanding officer with knees together in an orderly manner.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" she asked. The girls locked eyes in gentle silence before Kuro kindly rejected the offer, instead, casually switching the topic to one of interest regarding the man who arrived that afternoon.

"I'm fine without. Thanks. Actually, Shigure, what do you think of that new officer? Him, his girls… oh, and did our girls say anything about them?" It was a casual talk, just like any other day. Kuro never failed to make time for her girls no matter how busy her day had been. Sparing time listening to them was as important to her as any kind of training. It would serve to forge closer relationships with her ships, and that was evidently why her fleet was still the best-performing in Hatsushima.

Shigure thought about it for a few moments. "Let's see… Captain Akiyama looks reliable…? He sounds kind in his own way. It's a strange feeling, but my intuition tells me that he is someone trustworthy. He can be harsh, but he isn't mean or anything like the Chief Petty Officer. And he's got a bit of rugged… charm? His beard and ponytail style is kind of cool. As for the others… Zuikaku seemed rather moody during the day practice. She didn't say a word and went into the bath. Perhaps it's due to the training accident earlier? And maybe the arrival of the First Carrier Division seniors? She doesn't seem as cheery as usual... Hm… I haven't heard much from Akebono. And wasn't there a Fuso within his ranks—ah." Communicating at the same wavelength, both Kuro and Shigure realised their negligence.

"W-Where's Yamashiro?" The first to shoot up was Kuro, in a controlled state of panic.

Shigure followed soon after, rising from the sofa. "Last I recalled, she entered the docks…!"

Kuro and Shigure bolted from the room, running through the corridors, headed for the docks. Upon arrival, Kuro slid the dock's bath door open and asked loudly, "Yamashiro—!?"

But Yamashiro was nowhere to be found. The only response was an "Eek!" from a Katsuragi who was taking her bath. Kuro quickly turned heels and headed for the next location, which was the ship girl's dorms, leaving Shigure to make quick apologies to the startled carrier.

 _Where could you be, Yamashiro?_ That thought was all that occupied Kuro's mind. Dashing down streets and through corridors alongside her commander, Shigure was starting to show signs or exhaustion, lagging behind Kuro despite being a shipgirl with better stamina and strength than normal humans. Her commander was really something.

Kuro looked back and saw Shigure struggling to keep pace. "Shigure, return to my quarters. I'll be fine on my own." Kuro coaxed as she stopped for both of them to catch their breath. Shigure reluctantly nodded and headed back to the officers' barracks. Relieved that Shigure was on her way back to get some rest, Kuro carried on where she had left off. The girl's dormitory was a block away.

Kuro slid the door open and was greeted by the receptionist fairy. "How may I help you?" came the sweet sounding voice, perfectly suited for one of her small figure.

"Is…*huff*… are Fuso and Yamashiro in?"Kuro asked, hands pressed on her knees as she hunched over from exhaustion. The fairy flipped through a book, which Kuro assumed to be the entry/exit logs the girls signed as they passed through this door.

Shaking her head, the fairy replied, "No. Dreadnought Battleship Fuso and her sister Yamashiro have yet to return."

 _Drat._ Kuro stood up and swept her long hair back over her shoulders to allow heat to dissipate from her neck. She leaned her back against the wall, taking a quick breather. _Where…? Just where… not in the docks, nor in the dorms… Fuso… Akiyama… His room?_ Kuro kicked herself off the wall and broke into a run, heading straight for the officers' quarters.

In the officers' quarters, Yamashiro finally tackled tripped and fell on her sister, Fuso, in an attempt to catch up with her. They were at the staircase landing near Saito's room. "Onee-sama? What has happened, onee-sama?! Please talk to Yamashiro! Tell me, who made you cry…!"

Yamashiro cradled her sibling in a protective hug, desperately pleading for an answer, but Fuso remained silent as to what had left her sobbing. As desperate as she was, Yamashiro knew all too well that pushing Fuso for an answer right now wouldn't work. All she could do was bet on her sister's silence; that she would speak up after her waves of tears as she always did. The two sat there in their night wear, which was a simple light maroon one-piece for Yamashiro and a zip-up exercise jacket for Fuso.

Hurried footsteps were heard coming from below them. She knew who they belonged to. The distinctive sound of a ringing keychain could not be mistaken for anyone else's. Yamashiro faced the source of the noise and met eyes with her commander, Kuro.

"Yamash—! Ah…" It did not take Kuro long to identify the weeping figure by the iconic pagoda mast that adorned her head. Kuro climbed the last few steps and squatted, quickly taking in the situation. Yamashiro looked frustrated. She clearly wanted to help alleviate her sister's sadness, but she seemed unable to do so. Saito's quarters were on this level, and with Fuso crying… she looked like she had just been kicked out of her commander's quarters. That must have been it, or so she thought.

 _Hm… returning them to the dorms in this state wouldn't help anything. In fact, it may instead cause trouble for the other girls who are already resting…_ "Hey, Fuso. This may sound weird coming from me… but do you want to spend the night in my quarters, with Yamashiro?" Kuro suggested.

/2230 hours, Kuro's quarters/

Akebono and Shigure were sound asleep on Kuro's bed, rolled up tight and lightly snoring. It had been a long day, and they deserved the rest.

It was a surprisingly huge bed; it was a king-sized mattress which had been thrown out but retrieved by its current owner for a new lease of life. Zuikaku was still awake. She had clearly been waiting for Kuro so that she could lament the events of today. Upon seeing Yamashiro, she hurriedly apologized for the damage done to her turret earlier. The apology was quickly accepted; there were more pressing matters at hand.

Fuso sat at the edge of the bed, sniffling, having calmed down from her prior crying fit. Just as she did whenever possible, Yamashiro sat right beside her onee-sama, administering comforting rubs on her back. Zuikaku sat at the opposite corner, gently bouncing on the bed as she waited for her turn to speak. Kuro returned with 3 mugs of hot cocoa, handing one to each girl.

"Would you like to share what happened with us, now?" Kuro prompted, taking a sip of the much-needed tea Shigure had left on the table before setting out in search of Yamashiro, mildly surprised that she still had energy for all this. Fuso held her silence, only sighing in response. She was now hesitant, rather than outright unwilling, to describe what had occurred. Perhaps the hot cocoa and a little time with her sister would coax her into opening up. "You can trust us. Your sister's here, too."

With another sigh, Fuso began to speak. "… Saito… I mean, the commander… didn't want me to be a nuisance in his room," she lamented, her voice barely a whisper. With one of her soft and slender fingers, she wiped a tear from her face. She then sipped from the cup of cocoa and sighed again, her gaze cast towards the window and out to the open sea. Oh, how she missed his company…

"What audacity! How could onee-sama ever be a nuisance to anyone?!" Yamashiro was this close to hysteria at the thought of that bastard Saito mistreating her sister as such, but in front of her commanding officer, she had to show some restraint. Zuikaku decided to save her piece for later, briefly placing her own issues aside to listen intently to Fuso's trouble.

"Was that why you were crying outside?" asked Kuro, trying to ascertain facts rather than absorb the shipgirls' emotions.

"It had to be! When I reached that bearded geezer's room, onee-sama was already running out of the door in tears! How could he do this to Fuso onee-sama…!" Yamashiro was on the verge of tears herself, clenching her fists tightly and shaking them for emphasis.

"Ahaha… calm down, Yamashiro. No need to get so defensive…" _Sheeeet. And that geezer warned me not to let them near each other…_

"But being a nuisance… couldn't be the only reason you cried, right? You ran out of the room before he could chase you out… isn't it?" Zuikaku asked, her words earning a quick glare from Yamashiro, which she returned with a shrug as if saying, 'Hello, I'm helping here.'

"It's okay, Yamashiro. Zuikaku, and Captain… Koizumi…? …are right."

"Fufu. It's Commander. But Captain's fine too. Carry on." Kuro chuckled darkly under her breath.

"The admiral said… that he didn't want me to stay over in his room. There was a time that he wanted me to stay with him every night, but one day, he suddenly… lost interest. He suddenly became cold to me, outside of work." A hint of a smile broke on Fuso's face as she spoke of a time gone by. But as soon as her thoughts returned to reality, she looked sullen again. "I just thought I'd give it one more try… It seems like whatever I do… it will never be up that man's expectations… and that will be an undeniable fact…" The room went silent, except for Yamashiro, whom everyone could see was holding back her emotional responses as best she could.

Kuro made eye contact with Zuikaku. It was clear to each of them that they both understood what Fuso meant by losing interest. It was Kuro's turn to keep quiet, filing away that newfound piece of information. Zuikaku, on the other hand, took this information differently, eyes widening with lips and hands clenched tightly to suppress her anger. The girl was incensed, and nobody would blame her for it.

The exchange of dialogue repeated until Kuro decided it was for the best to get some rest. There would be more work to do tomorrow. Offering her bed to the three shipgirls, Kuro made herself snug sleeping on the sofa.

/0530 hours, Corridor outside Saito's Quarters/

 **BAM BAM BAM!**

 **BAM BAM BAM BAM!**

Zuikaku repeatedly smashed the meaty base of her fist against the heavy wooden door to Saito's quarters. "Kuso Teitoku Akiyama Saito! Answer this door or I'll bomb your office to smithe-"

"Just try it, and let's see how far your bombers get, Fifth CarDiv," remarked an ice-cold feminine voice as the door suddenly opened partway. Zuikaku's hand paused mid-strike as an unexpected face appeared in front of her. Sleepy, with her untidy hair let down and her evening wear clearly pulled on in a hurry, Kaga shot Zuikaku a steely glare of annoyance.

A whole train of thought rushed through Zuikaku's mind. _Kaga…?! Huh?!_ "K-K-Kaga-san?! What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like?"

"You… you slept with that geezer?!"

"… Your point?"

This was completely unexpected. Zuikaku had come here expecting to berate a middle-aged man, and ended up staring down her senior from the First Carrier Division, who had witnessed her embarrassment the previous day. She was not emotionally ready for this.

"I… ah…"

"If you've got nothing important or useful to say right now, get out of here. You woke me up an hour early. My eyebags will have eyebags because of you." Kaga closed and latched the door, leaving Zuikaku to catch her breath and her train of thought.

 _Kaga! Of all people, the coolest, calmest, and most elegant of the carriers, spent the night with that gross bearded man! What the hell…?_ Sickened by the very thought, Zuikaku gagged and walked away, headed to the mess hall for an early breakfast. After all that she had seen, she was going to need all the bauxite she could get her hands on.

/0900 hours, Armament Room/

Kaga and Akagi checked their equipment, as was normal procedure before any operation. "The new armoured flight deck looks good on you, Akagi-san," commented Kaga, as she admired the shiny metallic surface of the flight deck mounted on Akagi's arm.

"It's interesting, isn't it? An armoured deck rather than a wooden one… It's a little heavier than I'm used to, so movement's a little sluggish, but it's sturdier and less prone to fire damage."

"Saito's amazing, isn't he? He convinced Akashi to reconstruct our decks without changing the length or compromising capacity. I wonder what he'll come up with next," Kaga remarked with a satisfied smile.

Akagi smiled, satisfied with the new equipment. She spun around once, to give Kaga a look at her new equipment from all angles. "He's got a crazy streak. He pushes the envelope, but in a practical way."

"Oh, sure he is…" a third voice interjected sarcastically. "He's so amazing that he's got you two under his thumb, huh, First Carrier Division?"

Kaga adjusted her riggings and picked up her bow as she stood up, walking out of the archery range. "I have nothing to say to a 5th CarDiv brat who can't make her point frankly and clearly."

Zuikaku ran in front of Kaga and pointed an accusatory finger in her direction. "I've got questions for you! Why are you spending nights with that scumbag admiral? He's disloyal and callous! You don't know what happened to Fuso yesterday, do you?"

Kaga folded her arms, uninterested in Zuikaku's tirade. " _ **You**_ are the one who doesn't know a thing."

"Oh, yeah? I spent all night talking to her about how he used to sleep with her, and how they used to be so close. He's a manipulative scumbag and a creep."

"You're just so quick to jump to conclusions, aren't you?" prodded Kaga, staring Zuikaku down with an icy gaze. "Fuso has been like this ever since the commander rescued her from being scrapped by a senior officer who was just angry at her for performing poorly. He punched that man and had her struck from the list of ships to be scrapped. That officer was quite influential, so he had Captain Akiyama demoted and reassigned here. His promising career in the Navy is doomed to end on this godforsaken island because of that."

Zuikaku gritted her teeth. She could hardly believe a word she was hearing. She had thought of him as scum of the earth, but here the First Carrier Division seniors were extolling his virtues. She refused to believe it, as long as it came from Kaga. "Akagi-senpai, is this true?"

Akagi sighed and nodded without another thought. "It started with her trying to repay the favour. Fuso is beautiful, and he's drawn to that sort of outlook. But he's not the kind who's ready to get serious. She clings, and constantly tries to get his attention, and he doesn't like it. It really doesn't help that she's a little insecure and finds fulfilment from giving him satisfaction."

Zuikaku felt her position grow weaker by the moment. If Akagi-san corroborated this information, then she would have to change tack. "You're saying this because you're in his favour now, but how long do you think it'll be before he gets tired of you and starts looking for somebody else to satisfy him at night?"

"We know that this is how he is," Kaga acknowledged coolly. "He likes new experiences. He fools around. But we know that he respects us, nonetheless. He's never forced us into something we weren't willing to do."

"… We…? Us…? Wait a minute…" Zuikaku paused to let it sink in for a moment, making eye contact with Akagi, who flashed a childlike smile in return. "Akagi-san, you too?!"

"What can I say? Some things in life are best enjoyed together. Right, Kaga-san?" Akagi replied, standing next to Kaga now that she had completed her equipment checks.

An awkward silence filled the air, broken shortly by a chuckle from Akagi.

"… BOTH AT ONCE?" Zuikaku fell over backwards, blood running from her nose.

/0930, Open waters/

"Eh? The First Carrier Division isn't coming with us?" asked Zuikaku, as the fleet advanced in echelon formation. She looked left and right, making sure that all shipgirls were accounted for, and checking positions and angles.

"No," replied Kuro by radio. "They're doing a shakedown because they've just been refitted with their new flight decks. And of course, Fuso is their escort."

"Ahh…" muttered Zuikaku. She said nothing else, and focused on the task at hand. They were practising formations and movements, with Sugihara barking orders from the Mitsurugi, the Base Commander's command cruiser.

Kuro was busy fine-tuning her fleet's movement and spacing while in echelon formation. Fuji's fleet was a few miles to their northwest, practising formation switches. They were alternating between the diamond and double line formations, with his command cruiser as the flagship. Sora, on the other hand, was to their southwest, experimenting with the order in which he would place his ships in a line ahead.

After repeating the same route twenty times, the shipgirls had grown tired. Their shoulders were slumped, perspiration had soaked their clothes, and they had started to lose focus.

"OYYY! KOIZUMI! DON'T SLACK OFF OVER THERE! I SEE YOUR GIRLS GET LAZY AGAIN AND I'LL GIVE YOU MORE THAN JUST THREE EXTRA SENTRY DUTIES!" Sugihara roared into the radio. "WE'RE ONLY HALFWAY THROUGH THIS MORNING'S EXERCISE! GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER! HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO-"

Kuro muted the speakers so that she could work in peace, focusing on how she could best position her girls in an echelon. Some of the seamen on the bridge stifled a laugh. They liked this side of their commander.

"Commander, don't you ever get bored of this?" complained Zuikaku. "We've been doing the same thing day after day… And that ass Sugihara…"

"Bored? With girls like you around, it's pretty hard to be bored."

"W-What's that supposed to mean?"

"You've got a red stain under your nose. What have you been looking at?"

"Ehh?!" Zuikaku hurriedly wiped her nose with the side of her thumb. There was nothing. Realising she had been tricked, her face reddened and she fell silent in embarrassment. Kuro grinned to herself as she watched Zuikaku cruise along in silence.

Yamashiro, second in the formation behind Shigure, suddenly turned her upper body around and waved at the bridge of the Kusanagi. "Commander! I'm detecting six unidentified ships on radar, bearing zero-four-zero, approaching at thirty knots!"

"Could they be one of our own? Hail them and check."

"Roger! Unidentified fleet, please identify yourselves. You are entering Imperial Japanese waters. Identify yourselves, or we will fire!"

Loath as she was to do this, Kuro grabbed the radio headset and set the radio channel to communicate with Sugihara. "Chief Sugihara, I have a report. We've detected six unidentified ships on radar, bearing 0-4-0, approaching at thirty knots. Estimated time to contact, sixty seconds. Your orders?"

"Well, hail them and check if they're one of our own!" Sugihara's brows furrowed at this development.

"I already did."

"So just get them to answer! Why are you wasting my time with a pointless report?"

"Just following protoco-" Kuro was cut off mid-sentence and thrown off her feet as the Kusanagi rocked violently. Deafening bangs filled her ears as she fell. Catching her breath, she reoriented herself, picking up the radio mouthpiece as she got up.

"Commander Koizumi! We're taking live fire!" reported one of the seamen, rushing to her

"Damage report!" she demanded as she climbed back onto her feet.

"Severe rudder damage! We cannot turn to port! Fire in the engine room! We need to stop the engine and repair it!"

"Do it!" she exclaimed as she turned her attention back to the radio. "Unidentified fleet, cease fire immediately! Cease fire _**immediately**_!" exclaimed Kuro on the open radio channel. _Shit, what's going on?_

"Sosi hui! (Suck my dick!)" came the response over the radio as shelling intensified. "[We'll send you to the bottom of the sea!]"

In the excitement of combat, Kuro was unable to place exactly which language this was, although she felt like she had heard it before. "… What the hell? Does anyone speak this language?!"

"Commander!" reported Yamashiro, shielding her face from an incoming round. It detonated without doing much damage, but she seemed to be the main target of the enemy's attacks. "We're taking heavy fire! We won't last forever!"

Kuro realised that she was fast running out of time. "My fleet is taking severe damage and my command cruiser is disabled! We need reinforcements! Now! Chief Sugihara! Anyone!"

Fuji and Sora heard the reports and request for reinforcements, but had no idea what was going on, and had no idea how to react in this situation, either. "I wanna help, but what do we do?!" exclaimed Fuji in confusion. "Chief, what do we do?"

Sughiara gulped. This was a completely unexpected turn of events, and everyone was looking to him for leadership. "I… I…"

"Chief! Your orders, please! What can we do?!" asked Sora as he had his fleet turn northwards in preparation for manoeuvres. "They're going to be sunk!"

Silence.

"Come on! Chief! What do we do?!" Fuji yelled into the radio, observing the chaos from his position. He trembled at the sight of smoke billowing from damaged shipgirls and the disabled Kusanagi.

"Incoming enemy torpedoes!" reported Shigure as she rushed to shoot the incoming torpedoes. Out of six, she could only set off two. There was no time. She lined herself up with one and prepared to take damage. "Everyone brace for impact!"

The torpedoes went off, and during this time, they were still taking heavy fire from the enemy fleet. "I need help! Please!" pleaded Kuro, her fleet largely immobilised but still intact. Of her fleet, Zuikaku and Shigure were heavily damaged, whereas Akebono and Yamashiro were moderately damaged. They were now nought but floating targets for the hostile fleet.

Just then, Saito's voice rang out over the radio. "Prepare to go into combat!"

"Are you kidding?! We're using training shells!" exclaimed Sora. "They won't even leave a scratch!"

A greatly annoyed Saito growled into the radio. "You asked for orders, and I'm giving them. Indecision kills! Koizumi, hold a defensive formation and return fire, but do not aim to hit! Shoot into the water! Fuji! Reorganise your fleet! Form a wedge with Hiei and your command cruiser at the front, with heading 0-9-0, and advance at maximum speed! Kirigaya, form a line ahead with heading 0-6-0. Curl around the rear of Koizumi's fleet and head due north once you're clear of the fleet's flank. Form a wall for Fuji's fleet to squeeze them into!"

"B-But-"

"Do it, now!"

"Alright! Fleet, form up! Yuudachi, take the lead! Haruna and Katsuragi, hold the centre with me! Fubuki, guard the rear! Helmsman, make heading 0-6-0. All ahead full!"

"Roger!" acknowledged the shipgirls in unison as they formed up and advanced as instructed. They hurried into position, passing the fleet under fire. Huge splashes of seawater towered over them, as they came under rapid and accurate fire from the enemy ships.

"Kuro! How are you holding up?" Sora asked, checking her fleet's status as he passed by. Plumes of smoke rose from gaping holes in her command cruiser, which had clearly caught fire. Crewmen were actively fighting the fires, while her shipgirls held defensive positions against the enemy.

"We're stable for now but we can't hold on forever! What's the plan?"

"Just do what Akiyama said! Why did he tell you to miss on purpose?"

"I don't know, but we're doing it! You should too!"

"Right! Fuji, progress?!"

Fuji replied as he caught sight of Kuro's fleet lined up on his right and Sora's fleet on the opposite side. They had boxed in the attacking fleet on three sides. "All vessels, full speed ahead! I hope this works!"

"Who are these guys?" asked Hiei, steaming ahead alongside Fuji's command cruiser. "I've never heard that language before. My sister Kirishima would know it…" At this distance, she could spot individuals in the enemy fleet clearly. "They're all… shipguys. One of them looks a little strange, though."

"… Ship… guys? Wha?" muttered Fuji in response. "I don't get it, but let's talk about it later." He noticed the enemy formation switching from a line ahead to a diamond as they approached. He then understood what Hiei had meant. The hostile fleet was composed of shipguys, rather than shipgirls. Each was decked out in a maroon coat or jacket with black pants and knee-high boots, and some even had ushankas upon their heads.

Hiei bashed a destroyer aside with her shoulder as she charged forward. Upon impact, his main gun broke, and he slid away across the water, rejoining his fleet. The enemy regrouped and started to concentrate their fire on Fuji's fleet. "Hey, look at them! We did some damage and they're running scared!" Fuji exclaimed excitedly.

Saito's voice came by radio again. "Fuji, well done! Cease advance! Form a line ahead opposite Kirigaya's fleet, and hold position!"

"Why? We were doing just fine with the charge!" exclaimed Fuji, confused as to why he suddenly had to stop the charge. "We're not doing a whole lot here with training shells! If we keep sitting around-"

Just then, a barrage of heavy shells smashed into the enemy flagship, damaging his radio mast, and disabling his main gun. "Chyort vozmi (Dammit)! [I've been hit. Job's done for the day anyways. Let's pull out!]" Successive salvos landed dangerously close, and some of them hit a nearby destroyer, disabling the rudder and engine.

A great shadow was cast over the combat area. As Sora, Kuro, and Fuji looked to the sky, the delightful droning of dozens of propeller engines filled their ears. Wave upon wave of dive-bombers swooped in on the enemy fleet, their escort planes circling overhead to provide cover.

"[I'm not going to just let you go that easily!]" Saito barked on the open channel in Russian as he sailed into the combat area on the Tadakatsu, with Kaga, Akagi, and Fuso abreast with his ship, each of them in combat stance, having just used their weapons. Fuso continued shelling from long range with deadly accuracy. "[Get on your knees and beg for mercy!]"

The Russian ships immediately turned tail and ran as quickly as they had come, except for the destroyer that had been severely damaged and was unable to move. "[Commander! One of us can't move!]"

"[Leave her! She can rot at the bottom of the sea for all I care!]" exclaimed the Russian flagship. "[Pull out!]"

The enemy ships fled, and the aircraft returned to Akagi's and Kaga's shiny new flight decks without even firing a shot… not that they could have even done so. They were unarmed practise aircraft.

As the enemy fleet pulled out of the mission area, the three fleets surrounded the disabled ship. "Captain Akiyama, we captured a ship. What do we do with this one?" asked Kuro. "Wait a minute. Is that…?"

"Is that what? Report," demanded Saito, moving his fleet closer to Kuro's to get a better view of the aftermath.

The lone ship left behind turned their head left and right, observing as the enemy fleet surrounded them. Despite the broken shoulder-mounted main gun and shattered depth charge racks, they continued to resist. Why were these shipgirls so friendly and concerned? Did they not know that a ship's purpose in combat was to do or die? What was this name they kept saying? It was not dislikeable. It just made no sense.

"Koizumi, we'll talk about this later. We'll tow all damaged ships back to port for repairs. Meet at the operations room for debriefing."

"The captured ship… It's one of ours. It's… Hibiki."

"…"

"…"

"… What?!"

* * *

Authors' Note #2:

We thought it would be interesting to include commander abilities, because a commander's expertise can make a big difference in combat. Conceptually, each commander has a few abilities, each with a price to pay, and we hope we've introduced them well enough with Kuro's Commander Ability. (Edit: We've scrapped the idea of commander abilities, because it translates poorly into text. We haven't seen much use of it over the next few chapters in terms of planning, so there's no point in keeping it, as cool as it seemed to us initially.)

Authors' Note #3:

Our understanding is that in the Russian language, the convention is to call ships "he" rather than the English convention of "she", which is why they're depicted as shipguys here rather than shipgirls. They're also designed to be a lot more vulgar and less civilised.

No offence to any Russian readers! Our chief writer is a huge Russophile, and just wants to build up some aggression against the hostile fleet. The individual ships are as yet unnamed, but we already plans for an enemy fleet with faces, names, and personalities. Stay tuned for more!


	3. Echo

Kijin Sentai

 **奇人戦隊**

Chapter 03

The exhausted and badly damaged Hatsushima fleet hurried back to port for repairs. Saito immediately sent reserve ships on sortie with live ammunition, guarding against the possibility of further hostilities. Having re-armed Akagi, with combat-ready planes, he had her join the patrol to provide air support. The shipgirls were assigned double shifts to temporarily make up for a lack of manpower.

Although he was in a rush to see the captured ship, he could not afford to be hasty. The defence of this base still took precedence. Once defence preparations were finalised, he hurried to the factory, where they were temporarily holding the prisoner.

Upon his arrival, Kaga guided him over to the room where she was being held. He opened the door, and the shipgirls within made way for him.

With her limbs tied to the bedposts, the captured shipgirl could not move. She was dressed in what seemed to be the standard uniform of the hostile fleet: a maroon jacket, black trousers, and knee-high boots. The ushanka hiding her bleached hair had fallen off in battle. At this distance, and without distractions from the excitement of battle, the poker-faced Hibiki was unmistakable.

"[Prisoner. Identify yourself,]" demanded Saito in Russian, standing next to the bed with his hands behind his back. Between his appearance and his mannerisms, he struck an imposing figure.

Her reply was as cold as ice, seemingly unaffected by his attempt to make himself more powerful in her eyes. "[My name is Verniy. Hull number DD-066. Military Maritime Fleet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.]"

He knew that voice. It was undoubtedly Hibiki's. _What have they done to you, Hibiki…?_ He asked himself, pacing round the room. He approached the opposite side of the bed, so that his hands would be hidden behind his back. He clenched and unclenched his fist behind his back to secretly relieve the tension he felt in him. He could not afford to lose his cool, especially not in front of the people he led. "[Your name is Hibiki. You once served the Imperial Japanese Navy with distinction. You were once under the command of a man who saved 442 enemy sailors while he was in command of your sister ship, Ikazuchi. Do you remember that?]"

"[Lies. My name is Verniy. You are the enemy. I must exterminate you.]" Her expression did not change one bit as she responded.

Saito took in a deep breath and clamped his jaw shut, gnashing his teeth in reaction to what she had just said. It was not the words, but the fact that she had forgotten who she was, that shook his confidence. _I know it's you, Hibiki. Don't do this._ This was getting nowhere fast. There was nothing more to be done… for now. He could not see an immediate solution, and he had to be somewhere else. Saito turned about and filed past the other officers without so much as a pause.

"Kaga, have someone keep an eye on her," he beckoned her on his way out. "I'll see you in my office after lunch. We'll talk about this then." The carrier compliantly nodded with eyes closed. Saito then gestured to the three junior officers to follow him. "Fujiwara, Kirigaya, and Koizumi, come with me. We need to meet with Base Commander Watanabe."

/1230 hours, Base Commander's Office/

"I've heard from Chief Sugihara about what happened today. I'm not surprised that the Russians attacked, but I'm surprised that they did so in this manner, so close to our base," began Base Commander Watanabe. "Not even Ooyodo or my secretary ship Nagato picked up on any of this."

"My apologies, Sir," said Nagato, bowing her head as a show of sincerity. "I knew the Russians had been testing our borders recently, but I didn't expect them to attack us all of a sudden."

"No, it's not your fault. I can't expect you to expect the unexpected, after all. We say that we should all the time, but it's not practical... Now, Captain Akiyama, give me your report."

"Sir," acknowledged Saito with a nod. "I was conducting a shakedown with Kaga and Akagi, approximately 5km north of home base. Fuso was the escort, and she was the only ship carrying live ammunition. Chief Sugihara was conducting training with the three junior commanders here in the practise area 15km northeast of home base. The encounter was sudden. There was no warning, except for Yamashiro's report of unidentified contacts approximately 60 seconds before the attack, and Koizumi's identification protocols. The hostile fleet spoke in the Russian language, and it would thus be natural to assume that they belong to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

"As the attack commenced, I ordered Koizumi to hold position, and had Fujiwara and Kirigaya's fleets form a U-formation, in which we trapped the hostile fleet and returned fire with Fuso from long range. We damaged the enemy flagship. The hostile fleet escaped soon after." Saito took a pause. While slightly shifting his footing, he cast a brief glance at his fellow officers, before returning to face his superior. "The junior commanders demonstrated willingness to adapt to dynamic situations, and excellent teamwork. No ships were lost, but the majority of Koizumi's fleet is damaged and fatigued, and they will take some time to fully recover. We captured one member of the hostile fleet as well, whom we believe is the former Hibiki: IJN Hull Number DD-56, and second of the Akatsuki-class destroyers. She is currently being held in the factory. I end my report, Sir."

"Excellent. Any action taken on the prisoner, thus far?"

"Yes, Sir. We have interrogated the prisoner and ascertained that she serves the USSR. We will evaluate the possibility of convincing her to rejoin the IJN as Hibiki. Hopefully, given some time, she'll remember who she was."

"That will not be necessary. Obtain whatever information you can and scrap the ship. She may be an enemy spy. We have no use for such shady characters in our midst. I expect a written version of this report on my desk by 1600 hours this afternoon." Watanabe did not even bother facing him as he gave these orders.

 _Scrap…?!_ A frown built up on Saito's face over a tense and silent moment. He sucked in a deep breath, prepared to speak at length. "Sir-"

"That will be all, _Captain_ ," Watanabe hissed dismissively, focusing on the papers on his desk rather than on his subordinate. "We've already reported the incident to High Command, and I have to produce a written report by this evening, to be flown to the mainland for review by the Chiefs of Staff. I don't have time to waste on petty affairs. This might be more than just a minor border skirmish."

Seeing no point in further argument, Saito said nothing, choosing only to stoically salute. "… Yes, Sir." The other officers followed suit, and without another word, they left the office with Saito.

Once the door had shut behind him, Saito cursed under his breath as he walked down the hallway. "What the hell does he mean 'petty affairs'…! Scrapping Hibiki… no, scrapping in general is just… This pompous son of a bitch…!"

"Sir… … Sir ...Um, Sir!" asked Fuji, walking alongside an indignant Saito. "Are we doing the debriefing now? Or…"

"No, we'll do it tomorrow morning. I need to go take care of some damned paperwork first. Go take a break." Saito hurried off on his own, not waiting for anyone to catch up.

"Wow. What's with him?" asked Fuji, looking at his comrades for ideas. Kuro casually shrugged, and only Sora hazarded a guess.

"It's probably got something to do with Hibiki... Or whatever she calls herself right now."

"Why don't we talk about this in the mess hall? It's lunchtime anyways," suggested Fuji. All were in agreement, and they went for lunch together.

/1300 hours, Docks/

While the commanders were at lunch, Fuso leaned back in the dock slot, enjoying a good soak in the warm and fragrant bath water. She had not taken any damage in the prior battle; this bath was just part of regular maintenance.

She heard footsteps along the wooden corridor leading to the dock, and in moments, the door slid open. The tranquility of the dock was now replaced by the chatter of tired and injured shipgirls, who boisterously chatted while removing their damaged clothing and placing them in baskets by the door.

"That shitty commander made me take a torpedo for her…" grumbled Akebono, pulling off her tattered sailor uniform. She made a mental note of the number of holes in it as she stared at it, vowing to herself that she would poke her commander once for each hole in her uniform.

"Now, now, don't go complaining about the commander," chided Shigure gently, patting her fellow destroyer on the head.

"D-Don't-!" Akebono snapped. Her outburst was abruptly cut off by more comforting pats on the head and loving hugs from her fellow shipgirls. "H-Hey, let go of me!" Zuikaku smiled in amusement as she watched the other girls carry the young destroyer into the shared bathtub. It was positioned in the centre of the docks, between two rows of private docks slots.

As Zuikaku entered the docks and put her bare feet on the dry, clean, and grooved ceramic tiles, she took notice of Fuso. The battleship was leaning against the low wall of the private dock slot with her arms stacked on top of the wall, and her head rested across her arm. She had a dreamy look about her, as if all was right with the world.

"Ahh, Fuso-san," Zuikaku greeted politely. "Thanks for the support fire earlier. If only I'd had some real planes instead of practise ones… Sigh." Fuso only nodded in response, retaining that dreamy smile on her face. Receiving no real reaction from Fuso, Zuikaku slid herself into the shared bathtub, where Akebono was busy hiding the lower half of her face underwater. Mogami, who was part of Fuji's fleet, joined in shortly afterwards. She had taken light damage during the battle.

"Onee-sama!" greeted Yamashiro, rushing over and giving her sister a loving hug. "You were so great during that battle… A-Are you alright? You look… dazed."

"He praised me, Yamashiro!" Fuso gushed with a smile that stretched from ear to ear, sitting up and holding her sister's hands with sparkles in her eyes. Her morale must have broken the scale at a value of 101, an impossible feat for a shipgirl less clingy than she.

Yamashiro was taken aback by the sudden proclamation. "Who? You mean-"

"Saito… Hahhh… he patted my head and said I did well… That my shots were on target, and that I saved everyone…" Fuso kept a supremely satisfied look upon her face.

"That-!" Yamashiro shuddered in disgust at the very mention of that officer. _She must still be under his spell…_ She took hold of her sister's hands and tugged on them. "Onee-sama, shall we join the other girls in the shared bathtub?"

Not one to refuse her sister, and in an incredibly good mood, Fuso rose and stepped over the side of the dock slot. Yamashiro slid herself in first without incident, proceeding to the opposite wall of the shared bathtub. As Fuso approached the bathtub, she managed to lose her footing while walking on grooved, anti-slip ceramic tiles, and slid butt-first into the water, next to Mogami. Warm bath water splashed over the sides and all over the other girls. The water cushioned Fuso's fall, enabling a safe recovery.

"I'm so sorry, everyone…" she said apologetically. She then looked at Mogami, who was seated to her right. The girl seemed shell-shocked, so Fuso put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Are you all right?"

"Ahhh, ouch, ouch, ouch!" exclaimed Mogami. She leaned back against the wall and curled up defensively. "Fuso-san…I think I just went from light damage to moderate damage… Those poor sailors in sick bay…"

"E-Eh?!" Fuso hurriedly retracted her hand, worried that she had hurt a fellow shipgirl. "I'm so sorry!"

Shigure chuckled. "Just like old times… The Nishimura Fleet's back together again!"

"That's right!" Yamashiro agreed, coming to the same realisation. "Ahh, I remember that we served under the command of Admiral Nishimura..."

"Ahh, yeah. And I was under the command of Commander-"

"Nishi-NO. Nothing ever went right for your fleet," Akebono interjected, before submerging the lower half of her face in the water again.

"Hm? Well, I guess I was an unfortunate ship…" lamented Fuso, suddenly listless as she recalled the operations she was involved in during World War Two. "I was mostly on support missions… I didn't do very much. Even my own sailors hated me…"

Yamashiro immediately responded to that remark. "That's not true, onee-sama! Th-They just weren't worthy of sailing with you…!"

"Perhaps…" Fuso fell silent, suddenly sinking into her default state of lamentation.

"The battle today was just like Surigao Strait, though…" remarked Shigure, recalling the battle from a long time ago. "We got caught completely by surprise, and Yamashiro-san was one of the main targets again…"

"Hmm? I don't really remember much about Surigo Strait…" Fuso replied, trying her best to recall the events of that battle. "I only remember a white flash… Someone must have blown up at Surigao… Who was it…?"

The entire dock suddenly became eerily silent. Fuso looked around at everyone's faces, and nobody would make eye contact with her. Fearing she had said something inappropriate again without realising, she lowered her face to look at her own reflection in the water. "Why's everyone suddenly so quiet…?"

"I'm pretty sure it was you, Fuso-san," answered Zuikaku, breaking the awkward tension in a completely casual manner. Since nobody was willing to talk about it, she took it upon herself (as an outsider to this shared history) to move the conversation along. "… if I recall correctly, that is. Nobody can be sure, though. Records couldn't confirm whether it was you or Yamashiro… But yeah, you suffered a massive explosion, caught fire, and broke into two parts that refused to sink for hours…"

"An explosive wail loud enough to be heard over 13 km away... On fire and broken into two pieces, remaining afloat long enough to leave a permanent question mark on history… just like her heart. That's burning love on a whole new level, Fuso-san," Akebono remarked snarkily, making reference to a certain battleship's favourite phrase.

"Ahh, how… romantic…? I guess," Shigure commented with second-hand embarrassment, wishing Akebono had not said those words quite so poetically.

"You're not off the hook either, Shigure. Commander Shigeru Nishino sailed past the floating wreck that was Fuso, while valiantly hailing her and completely ignoring her physical body. Talk about cold."

"Ahh! I thought everyone had forgotten about that part!" Shigure hid her face underwater just like Akebono had done up to this point. Mogami, Yamashiro, and Zuikaku burst into laughter, and eventually, everyone else joined in. These were times gone by, and they were not going to harp on things that had happened in the past. What laid in store for them remained a mystery.

/2000 hours, Fuji's Quarters/

"Hoooohhhh, man, I'm tired…" muttered Fuji as he closed the door to his quarters, pulling the towel off his neck and tossing it into the laundry basket by the door.

"Went for a workout again, Commander?" asked Tone, flexing the biceps on her left arm for emphasis.

"Haha, yeah. It was great!" Fuji flexed his in response, to Tone's amusement. "Feeling nice and clean after a shower, too, so I'm back to hang out for a bit before I rest for the night. How are you girls feeling? You had your first real battle in a while, today."

"Wagahai is always ready!" she proclaimed confidently, patting her chest with a closed fist. "Commander, we should train together sometime! But about today, the enemy we countered… Who were they? I don't know what to make of them."

"Yeah…" muttered Hiei, uncharacteristically unenthusiastic about it all. "I talked to Kirishima at dinner. The whole base is talking about the battle. They're Russians, she said… That itself doesn't mean anything, but I… I really don't want to shoot at people again, after the last war. It's… really pointless."

Fuji was silent for a moment, only able to awkwardly stand there and offer little more than moral support. He was unsure how to react to this… This was completely abnormal behaviour for her, and he did not like overthinking things. He was just good at following orders. "Well, girls, isn't it good enough that we won and made it through the day? Only Kuro's fleet took heavy damage… I think we're okay. Right?"

"You're right, commander!" exclaimed Hiei, pumping her fist in the air to regain some of her usual enthusiasm. "We can't let that get us down! We won today, and we should be happy! Hieiiiiiiii~!"

"That's right, girls. Just be happy we're all back safely. I'm glad we're all okay. Could you let me have the room to myself, now? I want to do some work before I sleep."

The shipgirls obediently cleared out of his room, bidding him goodnight. Fuji wrote in his journal about the events of the day, before setting the pencil and notebook aside neatly. He put out the oil lamp on his work desk, and laid in bed in preparation for a good rest… But even after an hour, he could not fall asleep. His gaze was locked upon the ceiling, while the cool sea breeze blew through the windows and into his room, ruffling his hair. The sounds of crashing waves and flipping paper were all that accompanied him in the darkness.

He had thought of just going to sleep, but something was bothering him. What Hiei said had gotten stuck in his head, and there was no way he was going to get it out on his own. Kicking off the bed, he decided to drop by Sora's quarters, located at the other end of the corridor.

On his way over, he looked at the gap between the door and the floor. The lights were still on. _He's probably still inside…_ He knocked on the door twice, and Sora answered immediately. "Yo, man, you got a minute? I need to talk about stuff."

"Eh? Now? Okay. Seems important… Yuudachi, turn in first, okay? I'll come back later." Sora headed out with Fuji, and the duo exited the officers' barracks. They started discussing what Hiei had mentioned, as they made their way towards the pier. This was where they commonly went for late night chats.

"Hiei told me something that I found a little bit disturbing," began Fuji, as they walked along. "I'm actually kinda scared."

"What was it?" enquired Sora, raising an open hand to encourage Fuji to share his story.

"Well, uh… where to begin… I came back from the gym, and Hiei looked kinda disturbed about the battle we had today. She seemed worried about fighting other people. You know how up until recently we were fighting Abyssals? Now we're at war with humans again, and she just… I dunno, kinda got upset about it."

"Now that you mention it… yeah…" muttered Sora, contemplating this point with his hand cupping his chin. "It'd be pretty hard for me to pick up a gun and shoot a human even though we've shot at targets in training. We didn't… fight in World War Two, so we wouldn't understand what it's like. But I think… maybe she's just more worried about her sisters than anything else."

"Hmm, I don't know if they were even really okay while fighting Abyssals, though," countered Fuji, positing an alternative view. "Sure, the Abyssals were faceless and nameless, but… the danger of being sunk was still there, right? Not really sure what's on her mind, but I really hope this doesn't turn out as badly as I think it will…"

Sora nodded in understanding as they approached the tranquil pier, where Saito's command cruiser had docked just days before. "I wouldn't be too worried… You've gotta remember, these girls have the souls of warships… They've seen a lot more than we have," suggested Sora, as the pier pulled into view.

The rush and fade of waves crashing against the pier; the cool wind sweeping across the quiet waters of the bay, and the silence of night… These were all things that made this place perfect for introspection. Tonight, especially, because the full moon hung bright over the bay, its reflection clear and bright in the calm waters off Hatsushima.

"Hey… who's that?" asked Fuji, pointing in the direction of the pier.

"Hmm?" Sora followed Fuji's gaze, towards the silhouette of a broad-shouldered man standing at the edge of the pier, staring out into the ocean in what seemed liked deep contemplation. "Let's go find out."

As they approached, the soles of their leather shoes clacked against the concrete surface of the pier. The figure turned, and the two young men caught sight of a swinging ponytail, in the figure's attempt to get a look at who was behind him. "Ahh, it's you two," he said, before shortly turning back to face the ocean. That voice was unmistakably Saito's.

"Captain Akiyama," addressed Sora more formally. "What brings you here?"

"Many things," replied the senior officer with a sigh, as the two men came to his side. "I like to come here to think. Being in the office or my quarters doesn't give me the right mood for that." He looked up as he heard the droning of propeller engines overhead. The silhouette of a transport plane could be seen against the full moon. "Look up. That's the plane that's carrying my report on today's events. I should save this chat for the debriefing tomorrow morning, really…"

"Well, what are you thinking about?" prodded Fuji as he sat down and let his legs dangle over the edge of the pier. "We're here because we like to come here to chat and think about things, too."

"Everything that happened today, of course… The battle; what's likely to come; the Base Commander's comments… and…" Saito sighed again, running his hand over the top of his head and casually stroking his ponytail for a moment. "Hibiki."

"Whoa, whoa, one at a time, man…" said Sora with a little sarcasm, as if he was trying to tell Saito that he was overthinking things. "What about Hibiki?"

"You might recall that she was one of our ships, yes? We handed her over to the Soviets as a war prize after World War Two," he replied, completely ignoring Sora's first comment.

"Yeah. She was the flagship of the Sixth Destroyer Division… The only one of her sisters to survive the war," added Sora. He did have some knowledge of Hibiki's history.

Saito nodded in confirmation, his ponytail fluttering lightly in the wind. "She spent most of her life as an escort ship, supporting the Imperial Japanese Navy's operations in the Pacific. As she went through the war, she lost her sisters one by one… and by the end of the war, she was the only one remaining. I sailed with the fleet that handed her over to the Russians at the war's end. I remember that look she had as we turned to leave… Those lonely eyes were as cold as the Russian winter."

Departing from his normally flippant demeanour, Sora said, "Wow. I didn't know you had a history with Hibiki." He had become more serious, out of respect for a commander's history with his ship. "I can't imagine how lonely she must have been, surrounded by people she didn't know, and living in such a harsh environment." He recalled the callous way in which she had responded earlier in the day. "Do you… do you think she resents us, for what we did? For giving her away?"

"I don't even know what she thinks, right now. But I know I resent the fact that she had to be given away. Even today, it's still difficult for me to accept what had happened. I went and learned the Russian language in case I ever managed to see her again…" Sora thought he heard Saito's voice crack, for a moment… and then he clearly heard Saito growl. "And now that she's back with us, that bastard of a Base Commander Watanabe wants her scrapped…!"

Fuji suddenly stood up and put a hand on Saito's shoulder, grabbing it tightly. "Hey, hey, you're not going to let that happen, are you, Sir?!"

Saito furrowed his brows and locked eyes with Fuji, sensing his concern and sincerity. "Of course not. What kind of commander do you think I am?" he retorted, swatting Fuji's arm aside and turning to walk back down the pier. "She calls herself Verniy now, but I know Hibiki's in there somewhere. I'll bring Hibiki back, no matter what it takes."

Fuji looked over at Sora with his jaw agape. "Whoa… Did you catch all that?"

"Yeah…" confirmed Sora, patting Fuji on his shoulder. "You know… I still think he's naggy and annoying, but… I can see that he cares about his shipgirls. Maybe he's not so bad…"

Striding down the pier and fading into the dark of the night, Saito left the two young men in awe of his steely determination to recover the soul of his beloved warship.

* * *

Authors' Note #1:

Hi there, reader! Thanks for all that feedback; it's really helping the story move along. We hope you've enjoyed reading this chapter as much as we enjoyed writing it. We'll consider some ideas posited, such as the inclusion of Aurora.

Authors' Note #2:

We missed this out in earlier notes. "Kijin Sentai" roughly translates into "Misfit Company" (literally, "Eccentric Person Battle Group"). The characters are intended to be eccentric misfits, which led to them being "posted" (banished) to this frontier island. As for how, that will be explored in detail later.

Authors' Note #3:

On the dock scene with some of the members of the Nishimura fleet:

Fuso and Yamashiro are sister ships of the Fuso-class, known more informally as the Fukou (unlucky) class. Sailors considered a posting to the Fuso-class ships the worst possible sea posting.

Historically, Fuso and Yamashiro sank at the battle of Surigao Strait, but historians cannot agree as to which sister sank first.

It is also speculated that Fuso suffered a tremendous explosion that split her in two, and these two halves floated and burned for hours before finally sinking to the bottom of the sea.

During the battle of Surigao Strait, Fuso mistakenly opened fire on Mogami, killing three sailors in the ship's sick bay.

These are things that we referred to in that scene, because we found them particularly amusing. For further reading, we recommend the following sites: . and wiki/Japanese_battleship_Fus%C5%8D .

Authors' Note #4:

We've scrapped the idea of commander abilities, because it sounded awesome in planning but translated poorly into text. :s


	4. The Calm Before

Kijin Sentai

 **奇人戦隊**

Chapter 04

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Authors' Note:

Greetings, readers! It's been a while.

We made chapter 4 extra-long because of how long it's been since our last update.

Thank you for following us thus far; we've got more coming up for you.

* * *

Authors' Note 2:

We shall dedicate this author's note to addressing the pressing issues raised by a kind reviewer, Russian Guest.

Dear Russian Guest, it seems that you have issues with the portrayal of the Soviet Union in this story.

Take note that this is a story that takes place after World War Two and a subsequent war with the Abyssal Fleet. This is mentioned in Chapter 3. Based on this setting, we will make reference to historical events, and we will sometimes deviate or dramatise as we see fit.

Also, the Russians were designated as the aggressors in this story, but that does not imply that we dislike Russia. We will also creatively interpret the image of the Soviet Fleet as we see fit instead of strictly following the uniform conventions of the time. This is a story, not a textbook on Russian history.

We invite you to have a discussion with us by private message, if you would be so kind as to sign up for an account. We will gladly discuss all the topics that you have mentioned.

As an example, let's discuss hull numbers.

We agree that the Soviets did not actively use hull numbers during World War Two. However, the American fleet, which you say did not have hull numbers, did in fact use hull numbers: CV-6 [and later CV(N)-6] was the hull number of USS Enterprise. The Imperial Japanese Navy ships also had hull numbers: Akebono was designated Destroyer No. 52 and named Akebono before her launch.

Also, it was written in the description that Soviet ships would be largely fictional, so as to accommodate a fleet composition that the real-world Soviet Union never had during World War 2. That means that we have the liberty to assign hull numbers as we see fit.

We once again invite you to have a discussion with us by private message.

* * *

/1900 hours, Nakhodka, home base of the Soviet Pacific Fleet/

Standing atop the seawall, Rear-Admiral Yeruslan Gavrilenko watched the aggressor fleet pull into the harbour and counted them as they returned. They were one short… just as planned.

"Rear-Admiral," greeted a silky-smooth voice. It belonged to Captain Gennadiy Varennikov, a junior commander under his charge. Yeruslan turned around. "Looks like the mission was a success."

Gennadiy smiled kindly at Yeruslan, and then saluted. The handsome young man stood between two other junior commanders: a refined-looking lady on his left, and a burly man on his right. They were Captain Aleksandra Voroshilova and Captain Oleg Timoshenko, respectively.

"Success? We'll see soon enough," Yeruslan said while returning the salute, deflecting Gennadiy's prematurely positive statement. He preferred to be prudent. Overconfidence had been the downfall of many commanders in history, and he was not about to add himself to that number.

"I still don't understand. Why did we not obliterate them all at once with a surprise attack?" questioned the woman, folding her arms to emphasise her displeasure. "This is a waste of time. Now they'll be on the alert and ready to respond to our moves."

"Patience, Aleksandra," urged Yeruslan, holding up his hand to signal her to stop. "This is part of our strategy. That sustained state of alertness is precisely what we want. It means we have control of the situation."

Irritated by her commanding officer's lack of aggression and efficiency, Aleksandra turned her head to the side to avoid eye contact. Her long white hair cascaded over her shoulder, concealing her face.

The burly fellow on his right took a bite out of an apple, which he had held in his hand this whole time. "I hope that the Japanese commander likes the gift we left behind for him," he said in a loud and lively manner while chewing on the apple. "Why did you want to leave that ship behind, though? I understand she's not as strong as our boys, but…"

 _Ahh, Oleg... Boisterous as always._ "Consider it an opening salvo, and a calling card. I know this man… and if I'm going to fight him, I want to fight him at his full strength. That means that unnecessary distractions from the battle should be moved out of the way." Yeruslan started on his way towards the headquarters building, and the three officers followed beside him on the pavement. As they turned the corner, a fleet of shipguys marched past them in formation, taking each step down the asphalt with pride.

"Wow, how gentlemanly of you," praised Gennadiy, putting his hands together and smirking with great satisfaction. "Just like a knight from the old days of the Empire…!"

"Be careful with that kind of talk, Varrenikov," hissed Yeruslan, turning his head back as he walked. He raised a cautionary index finger. "I'm no _zampolit_ (political commissar), but that can easily be interpreted as counter-revolutionary."

"Yes, Sir, very wise indeed," agreed Gennadiy. "I shall keep these beautiful thoughts to myself…"

Yeruslan rolled his eyes. Why did he have to be stuck with characters such as these, for such an important operation?

/Next day, 0800 hours, The Factory, Hatsushima/

 _This place is a pitiful excuse of a holding cell. If they think that these ropes will hold me here forever, they underestimate the might of the Soviet Union. Survival. Evasion. Resistance. Escape. How shall I escape…?_

Verniy stared up at the wooden ceiling while these thoughts ran through her head. She had grown incredibly bored, because she was allowed to do nothing but lie in this bed and wait. Scrutinizing the environment she had been locked in, Verniy saw nothing useful within reach, and she could not even begin to try biting the ropes that secured her limbs to the bedposts. They were simply impossible to reach with her mouth.

Her thoughts were about the bearded man with a ponytail. _He seems to know me. Impossible. I don't believe a word he says. This business of saving sailors and having sister ships is nonsense. The only family I have ever known is the people of the Soviet Uni-_

The abrupt parting of curtains interrupted her defiant thoughts.

"Uhm, good morning, Hibiki… I brought you breakfast nanodesu…" said a timid voice. Verniy turned to look at the doorway, where a young shipgirl stood with an aluminium tray in her hand. Atop the tray stood a plate of gloriously golden pancakes, which shone like the rising sun. "It's your favourite… blueberry pancakes, nanodesu! Do you remember?"

 _Blueberry pancakes…_ Verniy hung onto the thought of good food for one moment, as she stared at the brown-haired girl. The girl approached the counter by the side of Verniy's bed and set the tray down upon it. A tall woman entered just after the girl. This one had long and straight brown hair, and wore some kind of chest protector over her clothing. She resembled some sort of archer.

"Um, do you remember me, Hibiki? I… I'm your sister, Inazuma…" the girl asked shyly. She was anxious for an answer, yet frightened by what the answer might be.

A curious Verniy looked up at Inazuma in silence.

"Ah… of course you wouldn't understand…" lamented Inazuma, lowering her head. She could not bear to look at Hibiki, in the current state she was in. "It's been so long… you probably don't recognise us now. I don't even know if you speak our language anymore…" Those cold, vacant eyes pierced her heart each time she looked into them. Verniy's frank denial of any past association with her simply crushed any hope she had. Inazuma brought her arm to her face so that she could wipe her tears with the shirt sleeve.

Verniy remained silent, choosing only to observe the peculiar girl. This silence was shortly interrupted, as the archer walked over to the other side of the bed. If she recalled correctly, they called this person 'Akagi'.

"Hibi- Ahem. _Verniy_ ," addressed Akagi, correcting herself. She undid the ropes holding Verniy's arms down, to allow her to eat. "Please eat your breakfast."

Verniy sat up and looked at Akagi blankly. A part of her itched to make a run for it, now that she had the chance. However, her rational side quelled the urge. There were many things she did not understand about the situation she was in. The risk of getting caught was too high. "[I don't understand,]" she said.

Akagi smiled dumbly at Verniy as she received her reaction… and then it hit her. The renowned carrier slapped her forehead, realising that this shipgirl had been indoctrinated so deeply that she only spoke Russian, now. Saito had previously taught her a couple of Russian words and phrases, but she had paid very little attention to those lessons… She could, of course, understand that Verniy had no idea what she was saying.

"Hibiki…!" exclaimed Inazuma as she jumped onto the bed. She reached out to her sister ship and threw her arms around her. "My sister… even if… even if you believe that you're somebody else, I believe that you're still the Hibiki I know!"

Inazuma's arms tightly wrapped around Verniy, enshrouding her in a jarring gentleness and warmth. "[Hands off me, you filthy-]" she gasped with a snarl. It wasn't heard, for she was instantly overcome with anxiety.

Like the snap of a twig, a vivid recollection flashed past her mind.

She was in open waters. Smoke and flame filled the air. Nearby was a ship set ablaze, rolled onto its side and clearly doomed to sink. As her frame creaked under the stress of flooding, her sailors thrashed about in the surrounding waters, wailing for help.

 _"Hold on! I'm coming to rescue you, so-!"_ she mouthed. But these words… they could not be hers. She was immediately affronted upon hearing these words… in this language.

 _What is this...warmth...? This familiarity..._ It was fluent Japanese, a feat impossible for a Russian ship like herself…or so she thought. _A memory? A vision? But whose? Or is this just another-_

'She' raised an arm to break the overly realistic wave crashing down on 'her' and before it registered, she had returned to reality.

"H-Hibiki?!" exclaimed Inazuma who had been forced back by Verniy's violent action. "What's wrong?"

Verniy shifted away and sat with her back to the wall. She hid behind her raised arms, distancing herself from the shipgirls… but it did nothing to dispel the uneasiness that cornered her.

"[W-what... what did yo... What did you do to me...?!]" Verniy finally spoke, unaware of her brief usage of Japanese. "[Was that one of your dirty brainwashing techniques...!]" She was confused and frustrated, and unsure whom to direct her queries to.

Inazuma on the other hand began to tear up, lightly tugging at Verniy's skirt hem. "Hibiki...that was... Japanese...! Hibiki...!"

Akagi observed with curiosity as Verniy alternated between fluent Russian and basic Japanese. It seemed like some kind of switch had been flipped… although she did not think that it would change the current situation drastically. She walked over to the other side of the bed and guided the tearful Inazuma out of the room, returning just moments later. "…Verniy… can you understand me now?" she asked.

"… Little."

Grammatically, her response made little sense, but Akagi understood what she meant. She looked rather out of it, as well… perhaps it would be good to push instructions while she was compliant. "… Okay. That's a start. Please eat your breakfast. After breakfast, you will enter the docks for maintenance. Is that clear?"

"… Why?"

"You are our prisoner. As such, you will be given rights accorded to prisoners of armed conflict… food, shelter, and basic hygiene. Will you comply peacefully?"

"… Da."

/0915 hours, Saito's Office, Hatsushima/

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Kuro rapped her knuckles on the door to Saito's office thrice in steady and deliberate succession. "Enter," beckoned Saito from within. She opened the door and entered the office, shutting the door behind her and half-heartedly standing at attention. Saito, Fuji, and Sora stood at the table in the centre of the office. "Ah, Koizumi. Come and join us."

"Morning, Sir," she muttered tiredly. She had stayed up late despite having plenty of time off in the evening, as was her habit. Taking her usual spot next to Sora, she covered her mouth as she yawned. Once done, she looked curiously at Saito, who was flipping through a notebook. "Not gonna make comments about my being late?"

"Does my name sound like 'Sugihara' to you?" retorted Saito with raised eyebrows and a muted grin.

They briefly made eye contact. A similar grin formed upon Kuro's face. _Heh. Not bad. At least he's got a sense of humour._

"No, but it kinda rhymes with 'asshole'," interjected Sora, thinking it was funny. Simultaneously, Kuro and Saito turned their heads towards the young man and shot him unimpressed looks with eyes narrowed in expressed distaste. Taken aback by the response, he looked away, and everyone returned to the task at hand.

"I heard from Kaga, by the way," Saito mentioned casually. He set the notebook side and adjusted the positions of the wooden pieces on the map. "I told you to keep Yamashiro away from Fuso."

Kuro shrugged nonchalantly. It was an instruction that was of no particular relevance. "Well, Yamashiro found her crying outside your room. I couldn't just leave them there. At least they're happy with each other's company." Saito looked up at her for a moment, during which his grin turned into a satisfied smile. He then returned his attention to the map. Kuro took notice of this, and grew curious. "What are you so happy about?"

Saito made no direct response, and continued smiling to himself. He then moved on to the more pressing topic on everyone's minds. "Now, let's review what happened yesterday. First, let's confirm the situation: We encountered a hostile fleet just 15km northeast of Hatsushima. What does this mean to you?" All three junior commanders at the table paused to think for a moment.

Sora was the first to hazard a guess. "The enemy came very close to our home base… so I guess that means that we're vulnerable. Maybe we have weaknesses in our defences and should increase the patrols around our base. We should deploy sentry fleets a little farther out... 200km radius maybe?"

"Yes. Good. I already did." Saito nodded. He raised an open palm, swirling it about twice to encourage more participation in this discussion. "And?"

Uncrossing her arms, Kuro broke her contemplative calm. She had just thought of an important strategic point. "They could have done a lot more damage when they attacked, but they didn't… I find that suspicious. They could have pulled a Pearl Harbour on us if they wanted to… but instead they attacked with a small force and left Hibiki behind. It's more than just a little suspicious."

Saito agreed, nodding and pointing to Fuji to move the debriefing along. "Correct. Very good. Fujiwara, what are your thoughts?"

"Hmm. I think it was not too bad overall. Despite initial heavy damage, we managed to come out victorious, and we improved our formations and coordination… a bit," Fuji replied, assessing the tactical result of the battle. "Strategy-wise, I don't have many ideas for you…"

"Positive thinking is fine, but don't get complacent. We outnumbered them three to one, and deception won't work all the time," warned Saito. "The last thing I want is for any of you to think that yesterday's victory was well-deserved. Now, there are two things on my agenda. First, my assessment of this situation…" Saito cleared the table of wooden pieces, leaving a clear view on the map of Hatsushima, the Japanese mainland to the south, Korea to the west, and eastern Russia to the north. He stared at the map as if trying to decipher clues to solving a mystery. "Yesterday's skirmish was too small and light. Most likely just a probing force. Think about what this island means to Japan and to the Soviets."

"Actually, yeah, now that you mention it…" agreed Sora. He could not wrap his mind around how little sense all of this made. Six ships had attacked their fleet yesterday, and retreated as quickly as they had come… and there was no further action on the hostile fleet's part. "The least I would expect is a follow-up attack shortly after. What do you think they're trying to do?"

"I can't say for certain," Saito admitted, lowering his head and shaking it. His ponytail wagged along as he did so. "But I know one thing. Our neighbours have eyed this island for as long as we've held it. If the Russians capture this island, they will extend their territorial reach, which also makes it easier for them to threaten the Japanese mainland. We may have a war on our hands… although, if they were completely serious about war, they would have already launched a dawn attack yesterday and wiped us out. It's suspicious, so I've put the sentry fleets on full alert while I try to decipher their strategy."

"Let's not jump the gun, now…" urged Kuro, suggesting wisely that they remain level-headed. "It's possible, but is it likely to happen, given what we know?"

"The likelihood is moderate. We've had skirmishes with Russia before that didn't result in full-scale war… but there are no guarantees. All we can do right now is prepare for the worst. I've already made defence preparations. All fleets now sortie with full combat loads. Our coastal gun batteries to the north are ready to respond anytime, and we're constantly flying long-range air patrols."

Kuro sighed. "Alright… let's keep this in mind moving forward, then. I don't look forward to it."

"Me neither," admitted Saito, rubbing his chin.

"So, what was the second thing on your agenda?" asked Sora impatiently. "I'm sure we've all got better things to do than stand around."

"Yes, I was getting to that," replied Saito, brows furrowing in mild annoyance. He redirected his attention to Kuro. "Koizumi."

"Hmm?" she asked with a disinterested yawn while stretching her arms.

"Thanks to your efficient use of resources, your girls repaired pretty quickly. They're still fatigued, though, so… take your fleet for a day off, starting now. Kirigaya and Fujiwara too," ordered Saito, standing up straight and folding his arms. "Take my fleet as well. Koizumi, you're in charge. Make sure everyone gets back in one piece by 1800 hours. If the sirens are sounded, return to base immediately."

She looked at Saito with consternation. She did not fancy being his errand girl one bit, but held back her comments to herself because she felt that the girls would benefit from some time off. It would be silly lose that opportunity by bargaining. "… Fine, I guess. But what about the base? It's a little foolhardy to go off on a break when there's a possible imminent threat… especially with all four standard carriers on break."

"The defence force is adequate for now. Despite this island's infamy as a dumping ground, it's still quite an important place. For our protection, we have a high concentration of ships here... so don't worry. There will be enough response time for your fleets to return to base and sortie if needed. Just go take a break. I've got this covered."

"Well… if you say so."

/1000 hours, Shipgirls' dorms/

Other than its better-known purpose as a trading port and naval base, Hatsushima made an excellent seaside retreat. The clear emerald waters of the bay were cool, inviting, and teeming with marine life.

Certainly, everyone's spirits were lifted at the very mention of an exclusive day off, their first in forever. The shipgirls gathered in their cliques, each deciding their itinerary for the day after Commander Koizumi ended her briefing over the public address system.

"…A day off…?" the youngest carrier of the fleet dumbly repeated. She had never experienced what it was like to have a day off. In fact, she had not experienced a whole lot of things. Base Commander Watanabe and Sugihara never gave them any time off, even on weekends. The only thing they ever knew was unending work, sortieing and practising the same old thing every day. _Perhaps… I could spend the time with Zuikaku-senpai?! Awwww~! No, no, no! Stop being delusional, Katsuragi! Zuikaku-senpai's of a different league. She has better things to invest her time in than a day out with you...!_ Squealing at herself, Katsuragi dismissed the thought as quickly as it had formed. The girl was about to step away from the window she had been leaning against, when a faint shadow at the corner of her eye caught her attention.

"Hey," came a voice from behind her, squeezing a high-pitched gasp from the girl as she spun around. "—whoa. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I thought you saw me approaching, that's why…" Zuikaku laughed with a grin, raising both hands apologetically. "You've heard the announcement too, right? Are you free? I'd like to conduct a training session with you." Katsuragi looked at Zuikaku, dumbfounded. Zuikaku scratched the back of her head. Maybe this wasn't the best idea after all… "It's alright if you already had plans. It struck me that this would be a good time to brush up on your basics, considering how you fared during the practice drill previously—"

"YES! I'm free! Anytime! If it's for the Zuikaku-senpai that I admire…!" Katsuragi clasped Zuikaku's hand in excitement, sparkles in her eyes and . The stunned expression on Zuikaku's face soon grew to her usual grin.

"Alright! Ready your bow and arrows! We'll meet at the beach area directly outside of the archery range in ten!"

/1010 hours, Archery Range/

Seisha Hicchū. "Shoot true, never miss". To shoot correctly will result inevitably in hitting the desired target. A state of enlightenment achieve after countless practice with the bow. Unquestionably, Katsuragi was nowhere near there.

Straightening her back, Katsuragi exhaled a nervous breath and steadied her arms, with the bow tightly gripped in her left hand and the bowstring snug between her first three fingers. Slowly raised, both arms lowered in a wide arc, drawing the bow to its maximum.

She took another shaky breath. Her fingers released in a swift movement.

Tswoo—pak!

"-ku!"

Katsuragi staggered forward and slouched in mild disappointment, a hand reached to touch where the bowstring had struck her cheek. "Uu…"

"W-well, accidents like these are common at the start…!" Zuikaku, being the responsible and encouraging senior she was, was quick to reassure her junior. Her eyes caught sight of the reddened patch of skin on Katsuragi's cheek, and she positioned herself behind Katsuragi, supportively saying, "Let's try again."

Zuikaku supported Katsuragi's left arm as she drew the bow. "Here, like this…" said Zuikaku, guiding the latter firmly and politely. She made sure to align them such that the arrow was at the right elevation, near her face with enough clearance for a good and clean shot. "Loose."

Tswoooo... the arrow whizzed out of her hands, and they both watched as the training arrow cruised through the air, finally striking the floating target.

"A… Amazing! I did it! Zuikaku-senpai!" At a loss for better words at her achievement, Katsuragi beamed with accomplishment. Unable to contain her excitement, she jumped for joy. Zuikaku shared in this happiness. With newfound motivation, and her heart a little more settled, Katsuragi formed her posture for the next shot.

"…Say, Zuikaku-senpai?"

"Yes?"

"What… are those? Can my arrows reach them?" Katsuragi asked curiously. Zuikaku traced Katsuragi's gaze beyond the surface of the water and onto the shadowy, human-like figures under the water.

Zuikaku half-laughed aloud, embarrassed. "Aha. Those are submarines. Have I mentioned? Standard carriers are unable to—"

TWSOO—pwoosh.

"Ara, I missed?" Goya, shocked by the sudden introduction of an arrow, surfaced and screamed incoherently before returning to the depths. Her outburst aside, Zuikaku firmly gripped her junior's shoulders, a wry smile formed on her face in reaction to what had just happened.

"Listen, Katsuragi," urged Zuikaku with utter seriousness. "Standard carriers cannot attack submarines. Rather, they are unable to do so..."

"But why?" came the energetic response. It was a perfectly legitimate question. As long as it was her senior, she was eager to learn anything and everything, in the way her senior taught her.

"That–" Zuikaku continued, until interrupted by a familiar and unwelcome voice.

"How unsightly, 5th Carrier Division," the voice boomed. The twintailed girl slumped, instantly identifying its owner as the last person she would want catching a glimpse of their practice. Zuikaku faced the direction of the voice with eyes narrowed in annoyance.

There they were, the 1st Carrier Division, well-endowed in their colour-coordinated two-piece bikinis, moving gracefully as ever as they descended the stairs leading to the beach from the archery range. Behind them, the other shipgirls, dressed in beachwear, had started piling into the area. Sora and Fuji joined in as well, and it quickly grew into a beach party.

In Akagi's hands was a green bucket containing a generous ultra-large serving of Mamiya's special ice-cream, which was especially good for warm and sunny days like these. Kaga, on the other hand, wore a pair of sunglasses, and looked as pompous as ever in them. That side ponytail of hers did not help that image one bit.

"Ugh. 1st CarDiv…" lamented Zuikaku to herself. Right now, she wanted to find a deep hole in which she could hide herself.

"Hm? Zuikaku-senpai, those people are…?" asked Katsuragi in puzzlement.

"Right… this may be the first time you're meeting them in the flesh." Zuikaku slumped further, then gave a light pat on Katsuragi's shoulder. "They are the 1st Carrier Division's Standard Carriers, Akagi and Kaga. My seniors, in a nutshell."

Katsuragi exchanged glances between her senpai and her senpai's senpais, silently in awe of the combined awesomeness that she was presently basking in.

"How unsightly, 5th CarDiv. Just what was with that shot?" mocked Kaga, an arm locked on her waist and the other dangled in style.

"What's your problem? We were simply testing the waters." Zuikaku retorted, working her best to keep her irritation in check. It did not help at all that Kaga actually looked pretty good like that.

"It's unthinkable to have a standard carrier waste precious aircraft like this. Have you grown conceited, Zuikaku? On your training, and that of the hatchling beside you… I have misgivings about going into combat with you, if this is the standard of training around here."

"Why, thank you very much for the words of guidance. May I say the same in regards to your upgraded flight decks, the brainchild of your precious Captain Akiyama? Was it improved to match your namesake as the Sea Eagle Yakitori Roaster, Kaga?"

Even for a joke, that struck a nerve. Kaga's calm broke, and she lowered her head to enable her to stare at Zuikaku with her eyes unobscured by her sunglasses. "You—!"

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" roared young man's voice. Sora had overheard everything and was beside himself with laughter. He rolled about on his pool float, just below the platform on which the carrier girls were standing.

Without breaking eye contact with the junior carrier, Kaga seized the bow in Katsuragi's hands, grabbed an arrow, and nocked it.

"HAHAHAha…ha…" Sora stopped laughing as soon as he noticed what Kaga was doing. "AHH W-WAIT KAGA NONONONOOOO-"

Still looking at Katsuragi, she loosed the arrow. It struck the corner of Sora's pool float, instantly popping and deflating it. "Please sink to the bottom of the ocean with all due respects, Commander Kirigaya. Nobody will treat you as non-existent just because you didn't laugh." She returned her attention to Katsuragi and offered the bow back to her with both hands. "Shoot true, never miss."

"Wow…" said the junior carrier, her mouth agape. She was completely in awe of her senior's senior. With two open hands, she received the bow, which Kaga gently left in her hands as she walked away.

"Train hard, Katsuragi!" encouraged Akagi as she and Kaga made their way towards the beach proper.

"That show-off…" muttered Zuikaku to herself.

"Zuikaku-sannnn~!" hollered a cheerful voice off to the side. Just when she thought peace and quiet had arrived, Zuikaku turned to see Naka in her bathing suit, excitedly waving to her as she approached in a run. "What are you doing out there? Come join us at the beach!"

"We're a little busy," she replied politely. "You girls go on ahead; we'll join in when we're done!"

"I'm sorry my sister is troubling you," said Jintsuu apologetically, catching up with Naka. "Come on, Naka. Let's go. Join us when you can!"

"Yup! Say, where's Sendai?" Zuikaku asked without thinking, realising a moment later that it was a pointless question.

"Asleep, as usual," said Jintsuu, confirming Zuikaku's suspicions as they went off to the beach area to play.

Zuikaku sighed. She wanted to play too, but there were more pressing matters at hand. Yet nothing would stop them from getting their fair share of the fun! "Katsuragi, let's do a few more, then we'll call it a day and go play!"

"Mmm!" acknowledged the young and eager carrier. She and Zuikaku got off three more good shots before ending their practise. Her seniors had given her all the motivation she needed to do well.

Meanwhile, Sora had made his way back onto the beach from the bottom of the sea. He collapsed face-down on the sand, shocked out of his wits by Kaga's sudden attack.

Goya stood over the officer, casting a shadow on his face. "Commander, are you still alive, dechi?"

"Ah… I think so…" he muttered, still in a daze.

"What a shameful display!" remarked Fuji, reaching down and pulling the slender young man to his feet. It was a fine opportunity to show off the results of his training. "Come on, let's get you to the table…"

Kuro, wearing a thin cotton T-shirt and shorts, sat on a wooden bench with her legs crossed. She watched with amusement as Fuji hauled Sora over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried him across the beach to the folding table she had set up. This table was for the barbecue, which some of the girls had started preparing.

Akagi and Kaga were seated next to her. Fuji and Sora sat on the opposite side, with Zuikaku and Katsuragi. The carrier girls ended up facing each other.

Naturally, starry-eyed Katsuragi watched with eager anticipation as Akagi laid out the armoured flight deck and opened packets of raw beef. Kaga paid no heed to Zuikaku's pouting, and eyed the armoured flight deck on the table.

"… Akagi?" addressed Kaga while she watched Akagi apply cooking oil on the flight deck.

"Yes?" the other carrier asked innocently.

"… I'm not helping you clean your flight deck."

"Heehee, no need for that," said Akagi reassuringly. She started laying pieces of meat on the heated flight deck. The hot oil crackled in reaction, and the smell of fresh meat wafted across the table.

Sora snapped to attention, immediately energised at the very thought of freshly cooked meat. He watched as Akagi went about cooking the meat. Just minutes later, Sora snatched a pair of chopsticks off the table and lifted a piece of beef off the surface of Akagi's armoured flight deck in wonderment.

It was perfectly cooked! The meat was not too red, and not too brown. "Wow, your armoured flight deck works perfectly as a teppanyaki plate, Akagi!" he exclaimed. Shortly after, he put the piece of grilled beef into his mouth. "NGGGG!" he exclaimed, covering his mouth and repeatedly slamming the base of his fist on the table. "Hot! Hothothothothot!"

Akagi chuckled with glee. "Heheh, I knew all that excess heat would be good for something one day."

As refined as ever, Kaga elegantly picked up her share of meat from the teppan (iron plate) of a flight deck and set it down atop her bowl of rice. "It's hardly the proper use for an armoured flight deck, but I suppose it has its benefits."

"You want to try it too, don't you?" prodded Zuikaku, grabbing meat off the flight deck for herself as well. "Admit it."

"Don't lower me to your level," Kaga remarked, shutting her eyes as she enjoyed her food. "Hurry up and eat. You used up lots of resources just now."

"So, Kaga, you do care, after all, don't you?" teased Akagi with her mouth full, nudging Kaga with her elbow.

"I-It's just what the Commander would want," she replied, hurriedly raising her bowl of rice to hide her reddened face.

Akagi laughed out loud, leaking rice all over the table. Kuro chuckled internally. _You can't hide the truth from me, Kaga… You care for Zuikaku's well-being._

She glanced over at Sora and Fuji, who were both happily partaking of the beef teppanyaki. _These guys… they still behave like kids, sometimes. That… kinda works out, though. Sora's funny, and Fuji's got a good and helpful heart. And then there's that Saito… I can't understand him. What's he thinking, giving such a large part of the fleet a day off when we're facing hostilities? Doesn't it make more sense to double the workload on everyone instead? And won't he get in trouble with Watanabe?_

"Oei, Kuro," exclaimed Sora, shaking his hand in front of her face. "You're spacing out. You okay?"

"Huh? I'm fine," she replied, immediately grabbing a bowl of rice and some beef. _Ahh… whatever. He's not my problem._

/1400 hours, Hatsushima Port Town/

With a spring in her step, British-made battleship Kongou explored the bustling marketplace in the centre of the Hatsushima Port Town.

 _Finally! I only ever get to leave the base when I run errands and buy that… Admiral's… favourite tea._ She shuddered upon her sudden recollection of Admiral Watanabe sitting at his desk and hissing about the importance of being served his tea. It also unsettled her that they shared similar preference in tea flavours. She shook her head as if to shake those thoughts right out of her mind. _N-Never mind that. I'm getting some Earl Grey to share with everyone!_ _It will definitely perk them up!_

She pulled up in front of the herb stall. "HELLOOOO!" greeted Kongou in English, smiling radiantly as she waved to the shopkeeper.

"Ha-rro!" greeted the aged lady, returning Kongou's greeting in English with less-than-perfect pronunciation. "You're back! Your energy never fails to make my day, Kongou-san. Here for some Earl Grey tea, again?"

"Yes desu!" she confirmed, pumping her fist. "I hope you have some left!"

"Yes, of course. I saved some just for you." The shopkeeper handed her a tin full of Earl Grey tea leaves.

"Thank you so much!" exclaimed Kongou. "Finally, some goooood tea!" She held the tin of tea leaves up high, beaming as if she had just come into possession of the Holy Grail of aromatic beverages.

Just then, while drowned in transient happiness, Kongou felt something brush against her hind quarters.

It was a fleeting touch, but she could tell that it was a hand. Immediately, she went on the alert. Turning around, she scanned for the source of this disturbance… to no avail. The marketplace was a whirlpool of human activity. There was no way of identifying the offending person amidst the hustle and bustle.

 _I… … … I should leave._

Kongou forcefully gulped the lump that had formed in her throat. She felt threatened, and there was no reason to stay. A wry smile was given as assurance to the aged lady, whose concern showed on her face for the cheery girl's sudden change of air. She quickly paid the shopkeeper, and squeezed her way out of the marketplace with goods in hand.

As she left the noisy marketplace behind, she could not help but recall the earlier incident. She halted her advance, and looked down at the tin in her hands in contemplation. Physically, she was unharmed, but… she squirmed as if had left a stain that she could not wipe away. It was not the first time she had felt this way, either. _That was just like… how that Admiral latches onto my hands when I serve him tea._ Caught in deep thought, Kongou failed to notice her surroundings.

"Hey, beautiful~!" greeted a young man. He stood diagonally to her, just outside of her path. Her head shot up to look in the direction of the voice. Leaning sideways, he waved to her. "What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"

"Why, I'm leaving, of course," she replied with a forced smile. She took two steps forward, resuming her journey out of town.

"Hey, what's the rush?" asked the young man, following after her and taking extra-fast strides to keep himself within her field of vision. "Why don't we go to the café and have a cup of tea?"

She did not bother responding. Instead, she continued walking as if he was non-existent. "Come on, it'll be fun!" he pleaded.

"No. Please leave me alo-"

He suddenly moved to block her path and wrapped his fingers tightly around her wrists. "Come on! Just one afternoon!" he growled, baring his teeth at her.

She froze. The drastic change in his tone sent her heart leaping in response, and her grip tightened around the tin of tea leaves.

 _Fight! Protect yourself!_ Her warship's spirit screamed to her, demanding that she defend herself.

 _ **You can't even brew a good cup of tea! What use is a warship like you?! At least Ooyodo and Nagato have organisational and leadership skills! What about you? Get out of my office!**_

Admiral Watanabe's voice drowned out everything around her. She lowered her head, and her consciousness withdrew into the recesses of her mind.

 _ **Kongou, I want you to spend the night with me. You are to be in my room by 2100 hours.**_

 _NO! I don't want to!_

 _ **I'm the man in charge, Kongou. You will respect me, or else I WILL scrap one of your sisters. This is not a bluff. I've had shipgirls scrapped before.**_

 _... F-Fine._

 _Get him out of your way! You can do it!_ Kongou forced her eyes shut and shook her head repeatedly. She could not bring herself to respond to him physically. _Why do you doubt? Listen to your s-_

 _ **For the eldest capital ship in the entire fleet, you're quite useless. You can't do anything! You can't administrate; you can't brew a good cup of tea; you can't even satisfy this basic need! You're supposed to be a passionate motivator for this fleet! What's the point of having you around if all you can do is ruin my mood? Maybe I should scrap**_ _ **you**_ _ **instead, huh?**_

 _What? P-Please don't. Admiral? Please give me a chance to-_

"Are you coming, or what?" hissed the young man before her. "Hey! I'm talking to you, bitch! Co-"

A loud thwack resounded. The sound of flesh impacting flesh at high speed brought Kongou back to reality. The next thing she knew was that the young man was sprawled on the floor, clutching his jaw with his hands. Standing between herself and the hopeful suitor stood a tall man in a naval officer's uniform, with his hair tied up in a ponytail. That outlook was unmistakable.

"She already declined, dimwit," said the gruff voice, which obviously belonged to Captain Akiyama Saito. "Get lost before I have you arrested for sexual harassment."

"Yeah? Go mind your own business, asshole. I should get you back for that!" The man rose to his feet. He then pulled a knife from his pocket and brandished it. "Come on! I can take you!"

Saito swiflty drew his Nambu pistol from his belt and pulled back the cocking piece to chamber the first round of the magazine. He held the pistol up to hip level, bringing it to bear on the younger man's chest. "You're welcome to try. The use of my pistol will be justifiable as self-defence… with use of force commensurate to the perceived threat to my safety."

Saito stared the ruffian down, looking right into his eyes. It took only half a second for the punk to start running. Saito smiled to himself and shook his head disapprovingly. _Silly boy, bringing a knife to a gun fight._ He slid the pistol back into its holster on his belt, and turned to Kongou, who seemed rooted to the spot.

"Kongou. I hope he didn't hurt you. Are you alright?" he enquired.

"H-Huh? Yes. Yes, I'm fine, Sir," she reported, looking up at him as if in a daze.

Saito was taken aback. He had heard that amongst the Kongou class, the name ship was the most boisterous of all. She was nothing like what he had expected. He put that thought aside for a moment.

"Kongou. Would you like a ride back to base?"

"… Alright."

The duo made their way to the car. Kongou placed the tin of tea leaves on her lap and leaned against the inside of the car door. She looked out the window, while remaining in this position. The engine revved to life, and Saito started them on the long drive back to base.

Five minutes into the drive, Saito could barely breathe amidst the tension. The silence was deafening. This was completely incongruent with his expectation of Kongou.

 _Whenever I observe her with the shipgirls, she's cheerful and practically bursting with energy… This is strange. What's with this oppressive silence?_

Saito cleared his throat to get her attention. It simply felt like there was a need to start a conversation. This was going to be a long and awkward drive otherwise. "Are you sure you're alright?

What he received instead was silence. Hoping that Kongou was still formulating her answer, Saito waited. Shortly after, without looking away from the window, she replied. "Why… Why did you help me?"

Saito sensed doubt in every word. It gave him the impression that she suspected him of something… but what was it?

"It was the right thing to do."

"The right thing…?" she muttered.

"Yes. What he was doing to you didn't sit well with me at all."

"… Why?"

"Hmm?" Saito raised an eyebrow. He took his eyes off the road to gawk at the lady beside him. _Why's she even asking, 'why'?_ "He was being rude to you, wasn't he? It was unwanted atten-"

"Yes, but why did you help me? What's in it for you?" she interrupted.

Saito's suspicion grew. _Something… Something is very, very wrong with the people on this base. They all seem depressed and stressed out. Ever since Day One, abnormal has been the norm._ "Nothing. Other than feeling good about helping a lady. Why does there have to be a motive?"

She sank into her seat, curling up defensively around the tin of tea leaves as if it were the only thing holding her together. "Isn't it the same for all men? They do something for a woman because they want something in return… And that's usually…"

 _Ahh, I see where this is going._ "Believe me, I want nothing more than for you to be the lively shipgirl I have often heard that you are."

"Yeah… sure."

Saito took in a deep breath. Clearly, she did not believe a word that he said. "Look. I meant what I said. Women are at their most beautiful when they can express themselves fully."

Kongou fell silent.

"I don't know what's happened to you to make you doubt the intentions behind a man's every action," confessed Saito. "But I'd like you to talk to me about it." He was more worried than he was frustrated. This was bad for morale, and he could not have that happen at a critical time like this.

"Ever since coming here…" she began. "I've never had a good interaction with my commanding officer… Admiral Watanabe. He's… only ever wanted one thing after another from me. And I can't keep up. I just can't…! Everything he does is about getting something from me. First it was about serving him tea… then it became about my work on the base, and then… and then…!" She hid her face in her sleeve, her voice cracking at her next words. "He made me do such… dirty… things…"

Those words had only one meaning. Saito tightly gripped the steering wheel, and then relaxed his grip to quietly relieve the tension in him. T _hat Watanabe…! What's he doing to the people on this base?!_ He gritted his teeth as he listened to her speak. Every word about this matter riled him up. "That's going to change, Kongou," he said with determination. "I'll make it change."

"How? He outranks you, and he's got the whole base under his thumb."

"I'll find a way. Just believe in me."

Kongou wiped her face with her sleeve and nodded tentatively. By his actions thus far, he had at least earned the benefit of the doubt. She turned to look at Saito.

He seemed deep in thought, as if he was genuinely enraged and thinking of how best to give Watanabe a piece of his mind. She held no hope that things would change, but knowing that someone knew and cared about her situation gave her some relief.

* * *

Author's Note #3:

Thank you, reader, for following us through our extra-long 4th chapter! We had a lot of ideas for this chapter, so it's a fair bit longer than usual for us.

We finally got to introduce the USSR Commanders! As you may be able to tell, they're not exactly a very straight-laced bunch themselves. We look forward to developing them in an interesting and interactive manner.

We hope you like where we're going with Watanabe and how he treats the people on base. Will things get better for Kongou in time to come? Stay tuned. :D

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Author's Note #4:

Were you confused about which characters had which ships under their control?

Here's a little breakdown of the ships they currently command, to make it clearer:

 **Akiyama Saito**

BBV Fuso, CV Kaga, CV Akagi, CC Tadakatsu (Command Cruiser)

 **Kirigaya Sora**

DD Yuudachi, DD Fubuki, FBB Haruna, CV Katsuragi, Asahi (Command Cruiser)

 **Koizumi Kuroaki**

BBV Yamashiro, DD Shigure, DD Akebono, CV Zuikaku, CC Kusanagi (Command Cruiser)

 **Fujiwara**

FBB Hiei, CA Tone, CA Mogami, CA Nachi

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We'll be doing this regularly, at the end of each chapter, to provide a recap of changes in fleet composition.


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